Louisiana faces a homeowners insurance crisis after devastating hurricanes

Hurricanes, inflation and other economic woes have made it difficult to find affordable homeowners insurance in Louisiana, a crisis that has no clear solution.

Tens of thousands of people are scrambling for homeowners insurance in Louisiana at the peak of hurricane season after recent storms drove their carriers out of business. The crisis has sent insurance prices soaring and stoked fears that the Gulf Coast will grow too expensive to inhabit as climate change fuels more destructive weather. 

Homeowners in some disaster-prone areas, including New Orleans, are seeing their premiums double, with some required to pay an extra $3,000 per year. That is on top of a steep rise in the cost of everyday goods, from groceries to gas, as well as energy bills and flood insurance.

The slow-moving meltdown of the homeowners insurance market, which has a tangle of causes and no clear solution, has left many Louisiana residents with a difficult choice: pay more for insurance, reduce their coverage, or go without it entirely.

“Where do you turn?” asked Amanda deVilleneuve, 34, a teacher in Slidell. She and her husband, an oil worker, have two young children and thousands of dollars in debt from the Covid-19 economic downturn. Since Hurricane Ida damaged their roof beyond repair a year ago, her insurance company raised her premium so high that it was cheaper to buy a policy from a state-run carrier of last resort, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. They now pay $4,600 a year, up from $2,400, deVilleneuve said. 

“Do I eventually move because I can’t afford to live here anymore?” deVilleneuve said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/louisiana-homeowners-insurance-crisis-hurricanes-rcna46746

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