Deadline to Claim 2009 Louisiana Citizens Insurance Rebates Near

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Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is reminding property insurance policyholders that the clock is ticking on the deadline to claim a rebate for the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) assessment.

After Dec. 31, 2013, policyholders will no longer be able to claim the 2009 Citizens assessment rebate. Nearly $59 million in rebates for 2009 remains unclaimed by property owners in Louisiana.

“Right now, about 53 percent of the available money for 2009 remains unclaimed.” Donelon said. “Many homeowners simply don’t know that they are eligible for these rebates while others may not be aware of how simple the process is to claim the money that’s owed to them.”

All property insurance policyholders in Louisiana – whether they are with Citizens or any other insurer – are assessed about four percent of their insurance premium which is paid to Citizens. In 2013 the assessment was 3.74 percent. This assessment is legislatively mandated to retire the Citizens bonds issued to finish paying Katrina claims.

Property owners can currently claim rebates for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

“Nearly $300 million, or 62 percent, of the total rebate amount available for 2009 through 2013 is unclaimed,” Donelon said. “To date nearly 60 percent of all funds, or half a billion dollars, available have gone unclaimed which is far too much for our property owners to leave on the table.”

Claiming the rebate can be done by filling out the Louisiana Department of Revenue R-540INS tax form for the years that the Citizens Assessment was paid. The form asks for the following information: name, address, social security number, insurance company, policy number and the refund amount, which is found on the policy’s declaration page. A copy of the declaration page showing the assessment has been paid must be attached to the form being submitted.

Policyholders can also visit www.revenue.louisiana.gov/fileonline, register as a user, and follow the links to Louisiana Department of Revenue’s web application designed to help individuals claim their Citizens rebate. Policyholders can choose to receive the rebate by direct deposit, paper check or a pre-loaded debit card. Individual policyholders may also claim the rebate by amending a prior-year tax return.

Businesses may claim the Citizens Rebate by filing out the Department of Revenue Form R-620INS or by filing a current-year or amended tax return. A copy of the insurance policy declaration page showing proof of the assessment amount must be attached to any claim form.

Below is a chart showing the available unclaimed rebate amounts listed by year:

Louisiana Department of Insurance All Citizens Assessments Unclaimed as of Dec. 3, 2013

Year	Assessment Amount Collected	Dollar Amount Claimed with LDR	Dollar Amount Left Unclaimed	Percent Dollar Amount Unclaimed	Eligible to be claimed
2006*	$193,440,581	$61,383,476	$132,057,105	68.27%	No
2007	$72,726,248	$60,492,956	$12,233,292	16.82%	No
2008	$100,885,680	$48,346,295	$52,539,385	52.08%	No
2009	$110,928,976	$52,024,938	$58,904,038	53.10%	Yes
2010	$97,382,370	$46,208,305	$51,174,065	52.55%	Yes
2011	$91,172,139	$42,765,864	$48,406,275	53.09%	Yes
2012	$92,723,602	$40,259,338	$52,464,264	56.58%	Yes
2013**	$88,000,000	$723,666	$87,276,334	99.18%	Yes
Total	$847,259,596	$352,204,838	$495,054,758	58.43%	Yes

* Regular Assessment, all other years include the Louisiana Fair Plan Emergency Assessment.

**Assessments for 2013 are estimated for entire year and are still being collected through the end of the year.

The tax forms are available from the Department of Insurance home page at www.ldi.la.gov by clicking on the newsreel link, “Louisiana Citizens Insurance Rebate.”

Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance

Topics Louisiana Property

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