The board of directors of the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation has voted to increase the coverage limits on property insurance for its commercial clients.
Under the approved increases, commercial coverage limits will be temporarily raised from $5.5 million to $10 million for a single building, from $2.2 million to $3.2 million in contents, and from $11 million to up to $20 million aggregate coverage per insured. The increases will sunset after two years, at which point the limit levels will be reevaluated.
The last time Citizens raised commercial limits was in 2013, an official release from the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) noted.
The LDI also said that following the 2020 hurricane season – which saw the likes of Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta, as well as this year’s Hurricane Ida - some insurance carriers had begun limiting their writing of property insurance in Louisiana. Thus, the regulator is anticipating more residents and businesses to flock to Citizens, due to fewer insurers actively writing commercial and private property policies in the state.
“The board of Louisiana Citizens has taken prudent steps to ensure that Citizens can accommodate a wider range of properties if businesses and homeowners can’t find coverage in the private sector,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon. “Citizens is prepared for changes in the private market after the tough back-to-back storm seasons we just experienced.”
