LOUISIANA CITIZENS PLANS RATE INCREASES OF MORE THAN 50%

Louisiana insurer of last resort Louisiana Citizens will increase its rates by an average of 27% next year, with some high-risk policyholders paying more than 50% more, after the non-profit organisation received approval from the state’s Insurance Rating Commission to implement a new price schedule. State law requires that Louisiana Citizens charge at least 10% more than the most expensive of the parish’s top 10 private carriers. Coastal Plan policyholders will see their rates go up by an average of 52.4%, an average increase of $500. The old FAIR plan holders, based inland, will pay an increase averaging $174. The state insurance department said that the state suffered property damage of about $7.2m, with homeowners accounting for the bulk of this. About 2,820 claims totalled $588,000, said state insurance commissioner Robert Wooley.