NEW ORLEANS — Homeowners insurance premiums are on the rise across Louisiana, and some people are struggling just to pay their bills. Insurance Commissioner Elect, Tim Temple, answered some of the questions people across Louisiana are asking. Our partners at Nola.com hosted a virtual town hall where he called the rates “historic”.
Those rates have life changing effects for people like Blondy Moore. Moore thought she may lose the home where she raised her children in Gentilly after her insurance premium went up by thousands of dollars.
She was cleaning her kitchen when she opened up an envelope that could change everything. Already faced with growing medical bills, Moore was speechless when she read that her homeowner’s insurance premium increased by thousands of dollars.
“I think I dropped it, and I hollered,” Blondy Moore said. “And my grandbaby came running, thinking it was something to do with the illness, and all I could do was give her the paperwork.”
When Temple takes office on Jan. 8, his first priority is finding a way to bring down homeowners insurance premiums like Moore’s.
“Every day, I’m having conversations so that we can come up with the solutions to the problems we are facing in Louisiana,” Temple said. “You’re going to hear me say this a lot. It’s availability, it’s affordability, and its accountability.”
His goal is to bring down premiums by encouraging more insurance companies to come to Louisiana. What he won’t do, is set any restrictions on how much an insurance company can charge. He says setting these types of restrictions would eliminate competition.
“I’m not suggesting that we mandate any type of premium relief. It’s been tried in the past, what happens is other companies leave,” Temple said.
Moore will receive a very different kind of mail on Friday, a check from strangers who heard Moore’s story last month and wanted to do something to help.
“It floored me,” Moore said. “To see that somebody, thought that much about me. It’s overwhelming.”
Each holiday season, a local business that asked to stay anonymous, donates money to someone in need. After hearing Moore’s story, they reached out. And for someone who has never struggled to pay her bills, it brought her to tears.
“It made me cry. It really did. I have to say thank you,” Moore said.
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