As Louisiana continues to experience an insurer exodus, state property insurer Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Louisiana Citizens or Citizens) has requested a 63% rate hike on all new and renewed residential policies as of January 1, 2023.
With insurers fleeing the state after either becoming insolvent or refusing to write new policies south of I-12, more homeowners have flocked to Louisiana Citizens. On September 12, Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon revealed in a town hall meeting in Jefferson Parish that the insurer has 114,000 insurance policies, a dramatic jump from 37,000 in 2021.
Donelon aims to convince more insurance companies to write policies in the state to stoke competition and drive down premiums.
“We have plans in place to depopulate Citizens and have significant interest being shown by companies that are anxious to get those policies out of Citizens,” Donelon said, as reported by Fox8Live. “[These are] solvent companies that are looking forward to doing business – competitive business – with each other in the property insurance market, even below I-10 and I-12.”
Donelon’s plan also includes implementing a program that has not been used following Hurricane Katrina – incentivizing private companies to write policies in the state, further revealing that the groundwork has already been laid, but funding from the state legislature will be needed.
State Senator Cameron Henry added that he, Donelon, and State Senator Kirk Talbot have been working closely with other lawmakers at the state capital to implement the program again.
