TALLAHASSEE - State Farm Insurance, Florida's largest private home insurer, said Thursday that it will drop about 50,000 homeowners policies next year in what it considers risky areas along the coast.

Most of the homes and condos that will lose their coverage are within a few miles of the coast, but some are farther inland, said State Farm spokesman Justin Glover.

The company said it did not have a county-by-county breakdown on the number of policies being dropped, although State Farm is the largest home insurer in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. The state's Office of Insurance Regulation said in March that the company had 15 percent of the market in those three counties, representing 123,379 homeowners policies.

State Farm, which has 1 million Florida policies, filed paperwork Thursday with the Office of Insurance Regulation announcing its intention to drop the policies.

Glover emphasized that no policyholders will lose coverage during the current hurricane season, which runs through November. Customers will start to be dropped after Jan. 1, when their policies come up for renewal.

The company also said in the filings that it intends to cancel an unspecified number of wind-only policies. Those policies are in parts of the state where homeowners have most types of damage, such as fire or theft, covered by another insurance company and State Farm covers wind damage.

State insurance regulators said they would look at State Farm's rates in light of its intention to reduce its exposure. With less risk, rates might have to come down, the state's top insurance official said.

"If State Farm reduces exposure in Florida … the Office of Insurance Regulation will revisit State Farm's rates to ensure they are not excessive," Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said.

Tribune reporter Russell Ray contributed to this report.