PEKIN, Ill. – Having all kinds of business is a good problem to have. Having Mother Nature standing in your way…no so much.
Pekin Insurance says the weather is to blame for a decision to not write any new home and auto insurance policies in Illinois or Iowa until early fall.
A statement from the company sent to WMBD Radio News says they’ve received more business in the two states recently, but weather patterns have become “more extreme and more erratic.”
“It’s no secret how volatile our storm activity has become,” said Susan Crisler, Director of Brand Experience, Pekin Insurance, in an e-mail. “Higher storm activity means a greater amount of damage over a larger area, which results in higher claims. This is because we have a large concentration of home and auto policies in these states. It has become necessary to temporarily slow the growth of new business in these storm-prone areas.
Pekin Insurance says such policies are only a small part of their business anyway.
But they say other companies like Geico, Nationwide, and Allstate are taking steps to do the same thing.
Pekin stresses their move is only temporary.
