Published: September 01, 2007 08:38 pm         

Another insurance company to give West Virginians a break

Think southern West Virginians never get a break? Some local insurance agents would beg to differ.

One major insurance provider in Raleigh County, Westfield Insurance, is set to cut homeowners insurance rates by 11.8 percent and personal auto rates by 5 percent in Raleigh County, effective Sept. 10, a spokesman for Raleigh Insurance Associates in Beckley said.

The cuts come on the heels of similar Westfield rate reductions in the county in 2006 and follow a trend in the state and the region toward cheaper rates.

Westfield’s rate cuts will affect about 500 homeowners and 1,000 car owners in Raleigh County.

The company will also offer rate reductions for home and auto insurance in Nicholas and Fayette counties, the spokesman said.

Other companies have also slashed their rates.

“We have had a statewide overall decrease in insurance rates,” said Erin Bailey, a public affairs specialist with State Farm.

Several factors have led to the cheaper rates, according to industry representatives.

The 2005 state civil justice reforms enacted by the Legislature made it cheaper for insurance companies to do business in West Virginia. More insurance companies are now offering their policies in the state, which results in a more open and competitive market.

That, of course, is good for consumers.

And consumers in southern West Virginian are getting another windfall, Chuck Turner of Raleigh Insurance Associates explained.

For years, insurance rates have been inflated in southern West Virginia, Turner said, because natural disasters hit insurance carriers in the region hard. The hail storm of 1992 and the snow storm of 1998 cost insurers untold millions.

But now, Turner explained, the industry has recovered from those disasters and can offer lower rates in the southern counties.

“Thank goodness we are finally the ones who are getting the benefit,” Turner said.

— E-mail: bbilleter@register-herald.com