Mass. draws many new auto insurers, but not State Farm
But the country’s largest auto insurance company, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., has so far stayed out of Massachusetts, depriving the market of a competitor that has the size and scale to grab market share and potentially push premiums lower. State Farm insures about one in five cars nationwide.
But State Farm said it is still monitoring Massachusetts to decide whether the potential earnings justify the costs of moving into a new market.
Unlike firms such as Progressive and Geico, which serve customers largely through their websites and call centers, State Farm operates primarily through a network of local agents. A move into Massachusetts would require the Illinois-based insurer to hire scores of local agents.
A State Farm spokesman said the company must consider a number of factors when it enters a new market including rates, pricing, existing competition, and the overall regulatory and statutory environment.
“State Farm will continue to assess the Massachusetts insurance market to determine if it would be in the best interests of our policyholders to start marketing business’’ here, said company spokesman Doug Nadeau.
If State Farm eventually does decide to enter the market, it would be the strongest sign yet that the market has become more competitive under new rules implemented by Governor Deval Patrick’s administration.
Many large insurers traditionally avoided the Massachusetts market, because the state dictated how much companies could charge customers. But in 2008, the state began giving companies much more freedom to set their own rates, a change it called “managed competition.’’
Insurance Commissioner Joe Murphy said the state’s move to reduce regulations has provided more options for customers and helped reduce rates. He said the state has nearly doubled the number of insurers - to 33 from 19 - over the past three years. Insurance premiums fell for two straight years before rising about 4 percent last year.
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Safety Insurance Co., the second largest, had about 11 percent of the consumer market, similar to what it had three years earlier. But some newcomers have gained customers. Progressive, one of the first major new companies to enter the market in 2008,
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