Columbus, OH, May 2, 2010 – The State Auto Insurance Group, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, has reached the “Million/Billion” milestone by providing automobile, homeowners and other lines of personal insurance. The insurer has issued policies to over 1 million individuals in 34 US states plus the District of Columbia. One billion dollars in premium revenue have been generated to date. State Auto has recently expanded operations in Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut and Utah and much of their current growth stems from those areas.
State Auto Vice President and Director of Insurance, Joel Brown states, "Success in our expansion states, along with new products and best-in-class automation for our agency partners is playing a significant role in our growth. We're honored by this achievement and grateful to the independent insurance agencies who represent State Auto and the individuals and families who have placed their trust in us.”
He continued, "While we've certainly grown as a company over the past 90 years, our tradition of compassion, integrity and superior service has not changed. What was as important to our founder, Robert Pein, remains important today -- treating our customers as we ourselves would want to be treated." Backing up Brown's words, the A.M. Best Company rates State Auto as A+/Superior.
On April 29, the State Auto Financial Corp, a subsidiary of State Auto Insurance Group, reported first quarter 2010:
- Net income of $12.9 million $0.32 per diluted share);
- GAAP combined quarterly ratio of 99.7;
- Per-share book value = $21.65 ($21.33 1 year ago);
- Return on equity of 4.6% (-4.0% 1 year ago);
In comparison, one year ago, State Auto Financial reported a net loss of $14 million with a 112.0 combined GAAP ratio.
STFC President and Chairman, Roberts Restrepo stated on Saturday, "Our story for the quarter is one of underwriting profit, strong growth and improving return on equity. Underwriting results were helped by normal first quarter catastrophe results and improved performance in personal auto and commercial lines. Homeowners loss ratios remain stubbornly high, but we're confident we have the pricing and underwriting actions in place to improve results and achieve profitability.”
He concluded, "Over the past two months, I've met with more than 1,000 of our agencies. These meetings provide a unique forum for us to listen, learn and respond. We're getting high marks for the products, systems, and claim service we're providing and continuing to enhance. Pricing is a concern for agents, both in terms of the significant increases we're taking in homeowners and our rates in the weak commercial lines environment. I remain impressed by the quality, depth and positive relationships our people have built over the years with our agency partners. Relationships are a core value for State Auto and a competitive strength -- one that we seek to earn every day.”
