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TAMPA, Fla. – June 24, 2010 – State Farm, citing exposure to possible hurricane damages, says it is dropping property insurance coverage of more than 100,000 Florida residents.

After threatening to pull out of Florida’s troubled property market last year, the Illinois-based company forged a deal with state regulators allowing it to non-renew 125,000 of its 810,000 residential insurance policies and raise the rates on the rest by 15 percent, The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Wednesday.

Even the owners of a hurricane-resistant “castle” say the company is dropping them.

Contractor Jim Kuhnsman and his wife Deann built a home in Tampa Bay with a foundation, roof and walls made of steel and reinforced concrete, but says State Farm is dropping their coverage Sept. 15.

“The fact we built this house like we were supposed to and then they drop us? You’d think if we all built these kinds of wonderful houses, people should insure us,” Kuhnsman said.

Kuhnsman’s agent told him his home was chosen at random as part of State Farm’s reduction of policies.

Homeowners losing coverage were not selected on a house-by-house basis, State Farm spokeswoman Michal Connolly said. Other factors, she said, such as hurricane exposure in different neighborhoods, were considered.

“Some homeowners might not think they are (at risk), but when you use the data we have, it could be they’re in a general area that could be highly affected by a storm.”

Deann Kuhnsman says she’s shopping for alternatives and planning to switch her car insurance from State Farm “as soon as I lose my homeowners insurance.”

Copyright © 2010 United Press International