General Casualty Insurance Companies announced today that it plans to withdraw operations from the state of Florida and exit personal lines (home and auto) in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee (subject to regulatory approvals). In all of these states, except for Missouri and Kansas, the company operates under the Southern Guaranty brand.
The affected policies represent less than 5 percent of the company’s total business and a very small percentage of market share in the affected states. General Casualty will not completely withdraw from the affected markets until late 2005. The company will begin non-renewing policies on Oct. 1, which is later than statutory requirements, in order to help agencies retain the affected business.
The company will continue to write commercial insurance for a wide range of small, medium and large businesses and will continue to support its commercial lines agents in these states.
“General Casualty now operates as a regional company in three diverse parts of the United States,” said Pete McPartland, General Casualty’s president and CEO. “We are committed to remaining a stable market for our agents and a reliable workplace for our employees. In order to do this, however, we need to exit markets that don’t provide us with the growth and profitability potential we would like.”
McPartland adds that General Casualty remains committed to personal lines (home and auto) in the majority of its operating states. “The personal lines market has been very difficult in the last several years, not just for us but for the industry. However, our results have improved each of the last two years, and we expect that trend to continue this year. While we are eliminating a small percentage of our personal line market, these actions will help strengthen our capabilities in our remaining markets.”
For more information please contact Anne M. Smith.