The marketplace for homeowners insurance in Louisiana is getting tighter. The number of insurers is in decline. And prices, once steady, only seem to go up, up and up, our media partners at The Advocate/Times Picayune report.
In much of south Louisiana, which has been rocked by multiple hurricanes in recent years, insurers are in retreat after feeling pinched by hundreds of thousands of claims worth billions of dollars, the newspapers report.
Seven companies writing policies in Louisiana have failed. At least a dozen companies have submitted withdrawal notices to the Department of Insurance, a step required before leaving the state. As a result, tens of thousands of homeowners are being forced to rely on the state’s insurer of last resort, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the papers report.
On average, homeowners’ insurers raised rates by 6.7% across the state in 2021, according to the LDI. That was three times larger than the average 1.9% rate increase approved the prior year, officials said. Data for 2022 isn’t available yet, but many homeowners and brokers are reporting steep increases, the papers report.
The market is bad enough that Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has termed the current situation a “crisis.” He is holding a town hall meeting at the University of New Orleans at 6 p.m. Wednesday to discuss “skyrocketing insurance premiums” as well as the recent raft of company failures, the papers report.
To read the rest of the story, including insights from Donelon's recent presentation to the Baton Rouge Press Club, click here.
