What in the world is going on in the Louisiana Insurance Market?
If you own property, car, or business, you don't need a Ph.D. in Economics to know that the cost of insuring your most valuable possessions has gone way up while the number of companies still providing insurance in Louisiana has gone way down.
Major providers are reducing the number and types of policies they are still willing to write.
For many consumers, that means paying more money for less coverage and in some cases, not being able to obtain coverage at all.
The nations' insurance providers call it a "Hard Market", and you'll hear us use this term a lot-- but what does that even mean? (Our market has always been a little tougher than most, but the hard market now impacts all of the United States, not just Louisiana.)
Well, by definition it means "insurance providers are experiencing more frequent claims and higher payouts for those claims".
For example, in 2021 insurance companies experienced a net underwriting loss of $21.5 Billion dollars. In 2022 those same providers lost $26.5 billion.
That's an increase of Five Billion Dollars in losses in just one year!
So what's fueling this fire?
Much of that increase can be traced to the number and magnitude of Natural Disasters.
Record inflation and supply chain issues are two other significant factors that add money and time to what it takes to make good on customer claims.
Don't forget the rising cost of "Social Inflation". That term describes the increasing willingness of juries to award largely unexpected sums of money that force insurers to settle claims they would normally have taken to trial.
But what does all this have to do with you?
The result is that premiums have been steadily climbing across nearly all segments of personal and commercial policies-- even though many customers haven't had any claims. Not surprisingly, consumers are responding by either reducing or altogether dropping their coverage in an effort to save money... and it goes without saying, we think that's a BAD idea!
I think it's important to not only review your coverage but also talk to your agent about your policies and try to manage the increase. It's important to save money, but not at the expense of coverage. The old saying "premiums sell policies, but coverage pays claims" always comes to my mind.
So what can you do?
We recommend doing everything you can to make sure your home and business alike appeal to insurance providers by doing things like maintaining good "curb appeal."
Call your agent and actually have a conversation about your coverage, where you may be willing to reduce coverage or increase coverage.
And, of course normal things like,
- Trimming back branches,
- Powerwash your house
- Clean you gutters
- Clear your drainage ditches
Are you making updates to your home or business?
- Keep receipts and proof of updates on things like;
- Roof repair/replacements
- HVAC work replacements/repairs
- Plumbing work/repairs
- Electrical updates, repairs, or replacement
- Hot Water Heat replacement
Always keep good records on anything you do to your home or business, make sure to communicate with your agent, and turn in copies of big-ticket items or documents to have your agent keep things on file.
At Kastner Insurance Group, we're here for you all the time-- especially in a hard market. We make finding affordable and complete coverage for each client to heart. We work with several carriers and are extremely familiar with every type of insurance that you may need, so we are always prepared to offer the very best we can find. We pride ourselves on unbiased advice to make sure that our clients are fully covered and genuinely believe that our customer service is unmatched. Let's make sure you're covered!