Unlike a good neighbor, State Farm is no longer there, at least for many Mississippians.

State Farm still wants to insure vehicles in the Magnolia State. And the company hasn't yet announced plans to cancel existing home or business policies.

But the largest insurer of private homes in both the state and the nation wants no new residential or commercial property business anywhere in Mississippi.

State Farm had already shied away from issuing new policies to home and business owners on the Coast before announcing last week that it was suspending activities statewide.

"We came to this decision reluctantly," said State Farm Senior Vice President Bob Trippel. "But it is no longer prudent for us to take on additional risk in a legal and business environment that is becoming more unpredictable. When there's more certainty, we will reassess the situation. . . . but the current legal and business environments with regard to homeowners and commercial insurance are becoming untenable."

According to a press release, State Farm "is concerned that provisions in its insurance policies are being reinterpreted after the fact to provide for coverages that were not contemplated when the policies were written."

Bull.

State Farm is not being prudent, it is being punitive.

• It is using fear to scare up a better settlement in federal court. But it is not the state's legal environment that is becoming untenable for the insurance giant, it is State Farm's insane contention that hurricane-force winds did not damage the property of its policy holders.

• It is trying to divide coastal and inland Mississippians over the cost and availability of insurance coverage. But while State Farm is willing to abandon South Mississippi, we do not believe that the rest of the state is.

• And in the process, State Farm is using up more and more of the good will built up over the decades by agents who deserve better from their corporate masters.

Since Hurricane Katrina, the Biloxi Sun Herald has encouraged efficient, thoughtful and prudent approaches to the recovery of South Mississippi.

In the wind vs. water debate between customers and insurance companies, we have acknowledged that a speedy, acceptable settlement is preferable to a never-ending pursuit through the courts of a perfect solution. The remaining Katrina-related insurance claims need to be settled in such a way that both insurers and the insured will willingly participate in building new and better communities.

But rather than participate in that process, State Farm has chosen to attack it.

It would be wrong for anyone to try to get more than they deserve from State Farm in an insurance claim.

But it also is wrong — tragically wrong — that State Farm used outcome-oriented engineering reports to invoke a clause in its policies that purports to say no wind coverage exists if storm surge ultimately caused the loss.

These are the infamous slab cases, where nothing is left of a home or business except for the concrete slab the structure sat on. If State Farm had betrayed only these property owners, it would have been an unconscionable injustice.

But now State Farm appears determined to betray its employees and customers all over Mississippi.

Being No. 1 instills a sense of pride and responsibility in some people. At State Farm's corporate headquarters, being the top dog has bred arrogance and vindictiveness.