Homeowner Insurance Carriers In Florida

Homeowners insurance rate increases have slowed to a trickle in Louisiana

Homeowners insurance premiums have continued rising in Louisiana and remain among the highest in the nation, but the rate of those increases has slowed since immediately after Hurricane Katrina , according to new data released by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners .

Louisiana remains the third-most expensive market in the nation for homeowners insurance, behind Texas and Florida, with a statewide average premium of $1,430 in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available.

But while statewide average premiums increased 9.9 percent in 2006, the third biggest jump in the country, and 11.4 percent in 2007, the largest jump in the nation, the rate of increase in homeowners insurance has slowed dramatically since then. In 2008, statewide average premiums increased just 0.35 percent in 2008 and 1.78 percent in 2009.

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said the moderate premium increases reflected in the NAIC data are consistent with the stabilization that he has seen in the homeowners market. "I am encouraged, and not surprised," he said.

Donelon credits new competition with taming the runaway rate increases immediately after the storm. About a dozen companies have become active players since the storm, some of them new companies that came here with the $29 million in incentives awarded by the state, some start-ups or new players that came here on their own, and some longtime players such as Liberty Mutual or the Republic Group that greatly increased their policy-writing over the past six years.

While those new players have not succeeded in bringing down rates, Donelon said his market strategies have been successful. "The best regulator of cost is competition," he said.

Based on information at the Louisiana Department of Insurance that ultimately will be analyzed by the insurance commissioners group, Donelon said figures for 2010 and 2011 will also show moderate rate increases. Most of the increase came from State Farm, which took statewide average rate hikes of 8 percent to 9 percent in each of the past three years. State Farm controls about 30 percent of the state's insurance market.

Are You Buying the Right Homeowner's Insurance? | 203K Loans ...

I am not an insurance agent, but I do have several excellent referral partners that have educated me on the differences in the insurance companies and their policies in relation to a standard home purchase and a purchase + renovation transaction.

My job is to understand every aspect of the 203K / Renovation Loan process , homeowner’s insurance is a key piece of the puzzle. So, like the rest of the renovation loan process I know the scoop.

I get asked a lot about this process. As you know from my previous manifestos, if I get ask more than three times then the topic is blog worthy.

Homeowner’s insurance is not optional if you have a mortgage. Lenders are not going to risk their collateral. If you have to have it, then be educated on the process.

Home-buyer’s will shop for a mortgage, they’ll shop for an agent, but I am constantly surprised at how few shop for their homeowner’s insurance . I get consistently sassed over .125 in rate. The difference between a 4% and 4.125% on a $200,000 mortgage is approximately $15 a month.

The difference between an $800 annual homeowners policy and a $600 annual homeowners policy is $16 dollars a month. Yet, for the most part, home-buyers call one insurance agent and their done. Why?

Home-buyers need to understand what drives the price differences.

First, many insurance companies are credit score driven. Not all of them though. If you are sitting at 660 mid score then you might see vast differences in price and, if you don’t research, then you’ll pay more. The insurance companies refer to this as “insurance scoring”.

You won’t find a lot of info about which insurance companies weight credit score more heavily.

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