Homeowners Rate Hike Proposed at Louisiana Citizens

East Baton Rouge Parish homeowners who buy coverage from Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. would see rates increase an average of 9.9 percent while wind-only policies would jump by 17.1 percent under a proposed rate filing.

Statewide, Citizens personal lines, which include homeowners, renters, mobile home, condominiums and wind-only coverages, would increase an average of 5.2 percent.

The Advocate reports the Citizens board voted to submit the rate filing to the state Department of Insurance for approval.

Under the proposal, rates for about 90 percent of Citizens personal lines policyholders would increase an average of 6.7 percent, Chief Financial Officer Steve Cottrell said. Rates for policyholders in the areas below the Intracoastal Canal would drop an average of 8 percent.

State law requires Citizens to charge 10 percent more than private insurers except in some coastal parishes.

Cottrell said Citizens based its rates on those of 71 private insurers that offered the same coverages in Louisiana.

Louisiana Citizens has roughly 89,000 personal lines policyholders.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said the bulk of the proposed rate increase was driven by State Farm’s most recent rate increase. The company’s homeowners rates rose an average of 8.7 percent statewide.