State Farm tops Hawaii homeowners exposure list

With a market share of 35.2% and direct premiums of $162 million in 2022, State Farm is the insurer with the largest homeowners exposure in the state of Hawaii, where wildfires have brought death and destruction to the island of Maui.

The fires have caused widespread damage to buildings and vehicles on the island and killed at least 53 people in the resort city of Lahaina.

Tokio Marine and The Allstate Corp. were the second and third largest providers of homeowners coverage in the Aloha State in 2022 with market shares of 12.4% and 8.0%, respectively, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.

Tokio Marine has increased its presence in the market in recent years after commanding a market share of 9.6% in 2017.

Another line of business being impacted by the wildfires is auto physical damage where Geico Corp. was the biggest underwriter in 2022 with a 27.4% market share and $115.7 million in premiums. State Farm was next in line with a market share of 17.3% and $73.5 million in premiums.

Hawaii's insurance regulator issued a statement Aug. 9 allowing nonresident independent adjusters to operate in the state temporarily due to the volume of claims expected because of the fires.

In terms of commercial property insurers, Tokio Marine topped the list in Hawaii last year with a market share of 13.3% and $65.7 million in premiums. Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. followed closely in second with a market share of 11.5% and $57 million in premiums.

With Lahaina playing host to approximately 2 million tourists each year, insurers are expected to face a wide variety of claims in the months ahead.

"This historic disaster will impact several types of insurance coverage including auto, boat, business property, homeowners (including renters and landlords), and travel insurance," the American Property Casualty Insurance Association said in a statement.