Why your premium climbed — and what you can actually do.
If your homeowners renewal came in far higher than you expected, you are not alone and you did nothing wrong. Here is what happened to Louisiana's insurance market in plain language — and the concrete moves that can bring a premium back down.
Four forces pushed rates up at once.
1. Back-to-back hurricane seasons
The 2020 and 2021 seasons — Laura, Delta, Zeta, then Ida — produced enormous insured losses across the state. Carriers price future risk from recent losses, and Louisiana's recent losses were severe.
2. Insurers failed or left
After those storms, multiple insurers writing Louisiana homeowners business became insolvent or stopped writing new policies here. Fewer companies competing means less pressure on price, and many homeowners were pushed into whatever market remained.
3. Reinsurance got more expensive
Insurance companies buy their own insurance — reinsurance — to survive catastrophe years. Global reinsurance costs rose sharply, and coastal, hurricane-exposed states feel that increase first and hardest. It flows directly into the premiums homeowners pay.
4. Rebuilding costs jumped
Materials and labor cost far more than they did a few years ago. Since a policy's job is to rebuild your home, the price of that promise rose with construction costs — even for homeowners who never filed a claim.
The market is competitive again — if you shop it.
Louisiana has worked to bring carriers back, including incentive programs run by the Louisiana Department of Insurance to attract new companies to the state. New carriers writing business means real quote-to-quote differences again — but only homeowners who actually re-shop see them.
That is the core problem with staying put: a renewal offer is one company's price. It says nothing about what the rest of the market would charge for the same house today.
- Re-shop at every renewal. The market is moving; last year's best answer often isn't this year's.
- Ask about a FORTIFIED roof. Louisiana law requires insurers to offer a discount for roofs built or retrofitted to the FORTIFIED standard, and the state's Fortify Homes Program has offered grants toward the upgrade.
- Revisit deductibles. Separate wind/hail or named-storm deductibles change both premium and what you'd pay after a storm — know the dollar figure, not just the percent.
- Check your rebuild estimate. Coverage should track rebuilding cost — over- or under-estimating it distorts the premium.
- Bundle deliberately. Compare the combined home-and-auto total across carriers, not one company's discount percentage.
One conversation instead of ten quote forms.
A captive agent can offer one company's answer. An independent broker's job is to put your home in front of the whole market — we shop 30+ A-rated carriers, present the real tradeoffs, and re-shop at renewal so the work repeats itself without you doing it.
Had a renewal shock? Make the market answer for it.
Bring your declarations page — we'll shop the whole market against it.
Re-shop My Policy