[Evans, Marv]

Don't get me started on home owner's insurance. I live in an area designated to have an elevated danger for brush fires. When I first moved here, I talked to my State Farm agent of 25 years saying I needed to get coverage. His reply was they didn't write policies in those types of areas. I'd had my home, cars, apartments, etc. insured with them for over a quarter of a century and I was dead meat to them. I ended up getting coverage through Farmers. My place is really built and maintained to resist fire. The fifth year they raised my premium 37+%. I asked them if it was legal to raise premiums that much, and of course they said it was. I also pointed out their premium raise was obviously meant to squeeze policy holders out in areas like mine. I finally found another company (Chubb) to write a policy and wrote a letter to Farmers saying I'd never buy insurance for anything from them citing their premium raise. Got a letter from them saying the premium raise was well within State guidelines, blah, blah, blah. I could say more, but I'll stop, except to say it seems companies can insure who they want, where they want, what they want, for how much they want and the State helps them right along.