NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – The property insurance crisis continues to have a hold on Louisiana, but Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says things are improving.
Temple says Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company notified his office that it has begun writing more wind and hail coverage across the state.
“The good news is they reopened wind and hail,” said Dan Burghardt, a longtime insurance agent with offices around the New Orleans area.
After Hurricane Ida in 2021, 12 insurers doing business in the state failed financially, and some others halted their writing of wind and hail policies.
In 2024, at Temple’s urging, the legislature repealed a Louisiana law that kept insurers from dropping at-will homeowner policies that had been in place for at least three years.
“That three-year rule was a chokehold, and he took a big risk pushing it and getting it pushed off,” Burghardt said.
Temple says Farm Bureau told his office that changes to the three-year rule gave it confidence that it could write more homeowners policies in the state.
“At this point, Farm Bureau thought that was, in fact, a good idea to begin writing wind and hail, because it gives them the opportunity to stay profitable. And when they’re not, they have the option to non-renew or exit out at a 5 percent rate,” Burghardt said.
According to Temple’s office, five new insurers were licensed this year to write wind and hail coverage in Louisiana.
Still, insurance premiums remain high for many in Louisiana and across the country.
Temple spoke to Fox 8 in August about the crisis and his efforts to drive down premiums.
“I understand that there are people sitting around their kitchen tables every day, trying to figure out how do they navigate this insurance crisis that we’re all facing,” Temple said.
J.D. Power, a data and analytics company, issued a new report that says 47% of homeowners’ insurance customers in the U.S. saw a premium increase in the past year.
And premium hikes are eroding customers’ loyalty to their insurer.
In Louisiana, with the protection of the three-year rule gone, there could be less reason for homeowners to stay with a particular insurance company.
Still, Burghardt, who writes policies for at least 20 insurers, is seeing rates fall.
“Rates are coming down,” he said. “We’re seeing all the companies’ renewals starting to drop 3-5 percent. And on top of that, the better indicator is that commercial rates are starting to come down. When you see that happen, you’re going to see the homeowner rates follow with it. So, it’s been a climate change.”
Burghardt says it also helps that no hurricane has hit Louisiana so far this year.
“No hurricanes this year made it accelerate a little more, where companies are getting a little more relaxed,” he said.
Louisiana has a grant program to help residents get fortified roofs.
“A new roof is going to be one of the key ingredients to looking for a lower rate,” Burghardt said.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.
Subscribe to the Fox 8 YouTube channel.
Copyright 2025 WVUE. All rights reserved.
