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Temple says insurance industry should be able to absorb latest storm

2 months 3 weeks 5 days ago Friday, September 13 2024 Sep 13, 2024 September 13, 2024 4:47 PM September 13, 2024 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - In the days following Hurricane Francine, people are on the ground and in the air taking a look at the damage left behind and the recovery ahead. They are also discussing the impact on the insurance industry and how it might affect insurance premiums.

Louisiana Department of Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple along with Governor Jeff Landry have visited hard-hit areas including Terrebonne, St. Mary, and Lafourche Parishes to get an estimate about the road ahead.

"The reinsurance industry, I think they're going to flag this as a low-impact event, I've seen the valuation around a billion dollars, maybe slightly over on this," said Temple.

Compared to other recent storms, Temple says he didn't see much debris on the ground following Francine. He noted the levees held and mitigation efforts are working.

Landry made comments about the mitigation efforts from Kenner Friday afternoon.

"I can tell you the number of blue tarps we need in this storm is extremely minimal, it's because of the resiliency and the reinforcing roof projects and the claims that were made and paid out that are now paying dividends for those insurance carriers," said Landry.

Louisiana is now entering a new era of insurance claims, while it's still in an insurance crisis. Insurance costs in all aspects remain high.

"It's not just our homeowner's," says Temple.

The state has been working to attract more policy writers after many left following multiple storms in 2020 and 2021. Temple says he has been talking to companies looking to come to Louisiana and he says Francine shouldn't change anything.

"We don't need a bunch of opportunistic companies just writing a bunch of business and leaving as soon as the wind starts to blow," said Temple.

Temple says the insurance industry should be able to absorb a storm like Francine. Landry says this about premiums on Friday.

"There really should be no excuse to increase premiums just because of this storm."

Rates have to be checked by the Department of Insurance. Writers can't just come up with a number, they have to justify a change.

If you suspect you have been mistreated by an insurance company, you can file a complaint with the LDI and it will be investigated.

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