Four small insurers – Merastar Insurance Company, Unitrin Auto and Home Insurance Company, Unitrin Direct Property and Casualty Company and Kemper Independent Insurance Company – are discontinuing their home insurance program in California, and will not write or renew homeowners and rental policies in the state beginning in 2024, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
These companies are all owned by the same parent company, Kemper Corporation, and filed their intent to withdraw with the California Department of Insurance. In these filings, the companies explained they will provide nonrenewal notices to policyholders on a rolling basis as their policies naturally expire, beginning with policies set to end March 1, 2024.
In letters filed with the withdrawal for each company, Kemper Corporation General Counsel, P&C, Christopher T. Longeway wrote that the companies intend to continue servicing current policies and processing claims for covered losses up to the date of non-renewal.
When it comes to how many Californians will be affected, the withdrawal filing states Unitrin Direct holds about 223 homeowners policies in the state, Merastar holds about 110 and Unitrin Auto and Home has around 9,900. Kemper Independent has the largest stake in California among these companies, with an estimated 33,200 home and dwelling fire policies in the state.
As part of this withdrawal, the companies have agreed that they will not renew any policies from the withdrawn homeowners program into any similar programs offered by the same insurer group in California, and that they will not file a replacement program for at least three years after the effective date of the homeowners program withdrawal.
According to the filing, they expect the companies will be completely withdrawn from the state no later than February 28, 2025.
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Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.