http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/44903 State Farm announced Thursday that it will cut rates paid by its California auto insurance customers by an average of 8 percent, for a total of $219 million, effective July 6. The insurer said the reduction, the size of which may vary among individual customers, is based on a long-term trend of improving claims submitted by ratepayers. State Farm, which touts itself as California’s largest auto insurer with 3.3 million policies statewide, said it has cut its rates four times since 2004, resulting in total customer savings of more than $1 billion.   State Farm announced Thursday that it will cut rates paid by its California auto insurance customers by an average of 8 percent, for a total of $219 million, effective July 6. The insurer said the reduction, the size of which may vary among individual customers, is based on a long-term trend of improving claims submitted by ratepayers. State Farm, which touts itself as California’s largest auto insurer with 3.3 million policies statewide, said it has cut its rates four times since 2004, resulting in total customer savings of more than $1 billion.   en-us Thu, 14 May 2009 16:21:39 PDT