RATE HIKES IN LOUISIANA:

Some southern Louisiana residents will see average rate hikes of 27 percent for homeowners insurance and some may pay 50 percent more, as a result of the Louisiana Insurance Rating Commission’s approval of a new price schedule for the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the Associated Press reported. Louisiana Citizens is a nonprofit corporation and an insurer of last resort for homeowners in high-risk areas. State law requires Louisiana Citizens to charge at least 10 percent more than the most expensive of a parish’s top 10 private insurers.