Another insurer is withdrawing part of business from Florida. What happens next?

The volatility in Florida's insurance market is showing no signs of easing. 

Farmers Insurance announced this week its decision to stop offering Farmers-branded auto, home and umbrella policies in Florida. The move is expected to impact about 100,000 policies issued through their exclusive agency distribution channel, the company said.

"There is no impact to 70% of policies currently in force for customers in the state, including Bristol West, Foremost Signature, Farmers GroupSelect, Foremost Choice and Foremost-branded policies," the company said in a statement to NBC6. "Such policies will continue to be available to serve the insurance needs of Floridians."

Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute told NBC6 the announcement wasn't necessarily surprising, especially since Farmers announced a pause on writing new business earlier this year.

"It's unfortunate when a major national insurer puts a halt on writing business in Florida and decides to exit the market," Friedlander said.

According to the Institute, 15 companies stopped writing new business in Florida, three voluntarily withdrew from the market and seven were declared insolvent over the past 18 months.

Friedlander said Farmers had a small market share, so he does not anticipate the announcement to have a significant impact, especially in South Florida.

"But the overall South Florida market is still very treacherous," he said. "Limited options, very expensive options."

Farmers notified Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation of its decision on Monday. The company said in a statement the move "...was necessary to effectively manage risk exposure."  The company said no policies will be canceled, but they are expecting to start sending out non-renewal notices in 90 days.

"Affected customers will receive notifications detailing when their coverage will end and will be advised of options for replacement coverage," the company said in a statement.

Friedlander said he expects policyholders currently insured by Farmers to be protected for the duration of their policies.

"You'll have full protection for the term of your policy, including hurricane season," he said. "No need to worry about that."

He also explained the transition will take time.

"The implementation of the non-renewal program will not begin until the first quarter next year and it'll be over a 12-month cycle based on individual policyholder renewal dates," he said.

Meanwhile, Florida's Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, released a statement calling for additional scrutiny of Farmers, saying in part, "I have directed my Division of Consumer Services to conduct a deeper dive into Farmers Insurance complaints — and if those complaints hit a certain threshold, it will trigger market conduct investigation that could lead to fines being levied against the carrier."

A Farmers spokesperson declined to comment in response to the statement released by Patronis.

If you have a Farmers insurance policy, you can reach out to your insurance agent to see the different coverage options that may be available to you. You do not have to wait until you get a non-renewal notice to shop around for new coverage.