State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. was the biggest beneficiary of California regulators approving more personal auto rate hikes in the first quarter, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.
California regulators signed off on 15 auto rate increases in the first quarter, with the most significant one being the hike filed by State Farm. The filing listed a calculated premium change of $263.8 million based on a 6.9% increase on $3.82 billion in premiums. This rate change is planned to take effect on May 15 for both new and renewal business, affecting about 3.7 million policyholders.
Overall, State Farm and its subsidiaries received approvals for 65 rate hikes across 29 different states during the quarter. The aggregate of the calculated premium change for the filings is $2.60 billion. This is the fourth-consecutive quarter in which the calculated premium change from the group’s approved rate filings exceeded $1 billion.
The Allstate Corp. obtained approval for 83 rate increases across the US in the quarter, with an aggregate calculated premium change of $1.05 billion.
Meanwhile, regulators across the US signed off on rate hikes for The Progressive Corp. and United Services Automobile Association with aggregate calculated premium changes of $929.9 million and $650.7 million, respectively. During its first-quarter earnings call, Progressive CEO Tricia Griffith noted that the insurer intends to boost rates in private passenger auto by 8% to 12% in 2023.