Louisiana Lawmakers Lower Costs for Citizens Customers Along Coast

A last-minute provision added to legislation headed to the governor’s desk will give some relief to coastal property owners who get insurance through Louisiana’s state-run insurer of last resort.

The compromise language was devised by lawmakers seeking to lessen the blow of hefty rate increases on wind and hail policies for homeowners who are customers of the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

As sent to Gov. Bobby Jindal, the bill would lower insurance costs by 10 percent for Citizens customers in 12 parishes across south Louisiana.

Citizens is supposed to charge rates that are 10 percent higher than the private insurers in an area. The proposal backed by lawmakers on the final day of their just-ended regular session would scrap that requirement until August 2015 for the coastal parishes.