LOUISIANA, USA — The homeowners' insurance crisis in Louisiana is about to get worse. Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is increasing its rate by 63%.
If you’re covered by them, this is likely not your first piece of bad news about insurance. Louisiana Citizens is tied to the state government and is used as an insurer of last resort. That means it covers homeowners who can’t get any other company to write them a policy.
State Law requires Louisiana Citizens to already be 10% higher than the regular market value.
But more and more Louisianans – especially those south of I-10 – have found themselves dumped by their insurance companies and leaning on Louisiana Citizens.
In January of 2021, Louisiana Citizens had about 35,000 residential policies. But after several major hurricanes and a dozen insurance companies leaving the state over the past two years, Louisiana Citizens insures more than 102,000 Louisiana homes.
That increase in demand has led to an increase in rates.
Starting January 1, 2023, residential property insurance premiums will go up 63% when your Louisiana Citizens policy renews.
So, if your policy is in place through July 2023, for example, your premium won’t increase until then.
What can you do to avoid it? Start making phone calls and shopping around for insurance policies. While some companies aren’t writing policies in some parishes right now, the situation changes every month.
