Years Of Storm Damage Drove Many Louisiana Insurance Agents Out Of Business, But One Agency Has Weathered The Storm.

(MENAFN- EIN Presswire)

Bryan Fassbender, of Louisiana's Fassbender Insurance Agency

A string of devastating storms put many Louisiana agencies out of business. Fassbender Insurance can write insurance policies that many others don't or can't.

When everyone else was cutting corners for fast money, we continued to do the right thing, even if it cost a little more. For a while, the competition was tough, but in the end, one storm paid off.” — Bryan FassbenderSLIDELL, LOUISIANA, USA, October 12, 2022 / / -- If you live almost anywhere in Louisiana, you may be concerned about Homeowner's Insurance. If you live in Coastal or Louisiana wetland areas, you should be concerned about Homeowner's Insurance. Going all the way back to Hurricane Katrina – but most significantly, following Hurricane Ida in September of 2021 – the system has shown itself to be broken in many ways.

Following Hurricane Ida, many Louisiana insurers simply went out of business. Some of the largest agencies either pulled out of Louisiana entirely due to overwhelming risk factors, or they became insolvent in the deluge of claims filed after Ida. In many cases, the dollar value of claims far exceeded many insurers' ability to pay. Companies went under… but even worse, tens of thousands of homeowners were left with unpaid claims and canceled policies.

In the past two years, Louisiana has seen 12 insurance companies go out of business, affecting more than 100,000 customers. Two state legislators have also lost coverage. One insurer, Access Home Insurance, has lost nearly all of its policies in the past year. Another big name, Allstate, has stopped offering wind and hail coverage on its home insurance policies altogether, instead providing coverage for wind and hail through the state-run LCPI.

According to the office of the state insurance commissioner, here is a quick breakdown of the major companies' collapse:

--Gulfstream Property and Casualty Insurance Company left in July 2021. Centauri Insurance took on the 9,000 Louisiana policies left uninsured by Gulfstream.
--State National Fire Insurance Company and Access Home Insurance Company both left in November 2021. Americas Insurance Company left in January 2022. These three companies had a combined 54,000 policies, all of which were taken on by an insurer called SafePoint.
--Lighthouse went under in April 2022. They were unable to find an insurer to take on their 30,000 policies due to a hardening reinsurance market.
--Maison left in June 2022, and the office was unable to find an insurer to take on their 12,000 policies, also due to the hardening reinsurance market.
--Southern Fidelity went under in July 2022, with 42,000 policies left completely uninsured.


Lighthouse, Maison, and Southern Fidelity all together had about 84,000 policies that were not directly placed with another insurer. So the homeowner not only didn't get their claim paid, they also got non-renewed all at the same time.

Unfortunately, because Louisiana is a Gulf state, it does get hit by hurricanes and other disasters. The state currently has one of the highest average costs for homeowners' insurance, at almost two thousand dollars a year. The increased intensity and frequency of hurricanes is a significant contributing factor to insurance company closures. Many insurance companies operate on reinsurance, which protects them from financial risk by covering losses in high-risk areas. Regardless of the reason, the state's insurance market is in trouble.

Louisiana residents are frustrated and angry at insurance companies. Their complaints range from slow processes to difficulties contacting providers to too-small insurance payouts. The state's joint insurance committee heard testimony from survivors, highlighting their frustrations with insurance companies and the lack of communication. The insurance industry's slow response to hurricane devastation has left many residents living in temporary housing and unable to claim their insurance benefits.

And although there is a last-resort state-run insurance provider, (Louisiana Citizen's, or LCPI ( )), the first choice for homeowner's insurance should be a private insurer. Unfortunately, much of the private homeowner's insurance market was completely decimated by the knockout combinations of Hurricanes Delta and Zeta in 2020, Tropical Storm Claudette in June of 2021, and, delivering the final blow, Hurricane Ida in August of 2021.

Many insurance underwriters went out of business or simply let the state, leaving just a handful of agencies left that can offer a homeowner's insurance policy that isn't Louisiana Citizens'. Those insurance agencies who“survived the storm” benefitted substantially due to the vacuum left in the market. All those companies who once diluted the market were now gone, leaving the few strong ones who survived to flourish. One of these agencies is Slidell's Fassbender Insurance Agency. Fassbender had always chosen to work with more solid and stable underwriters, even if the policy was slightly more expensive. While other agencies may have offered cheaper premiums, you get what you pay for and now almost all of those companies are now either insolvent or out of business.“,” says Broker Bryan Fassbender. 'When everyone else was cutting corners for fast money, we continued to do the right thing. For a while, the competition was tough, but in the end, one storm paid off.'

Fassbender Insurance is one of the only insurers left in the state that can write a“true” ISO HO-3 homeowner's policy. The ISO (Insurance Services Office) HO-3 (homeowners-3) policy is the most commonly sought-out type of . With a properly set up HO-3 policy, you can cover your real property, your personal property, and personal liability coverage for yourself and your family.

Louisiana is a high-risk state for natural disasters. Its location along the Gulf Coast makes it particularly vulnerable to flooding. Standard homeowner's insurance does not cover flooding, but you can purchase stand-alone from an insurance provider, many times the same provider that you have your homeowner's policy with. Water damage, such as from leaking roofs, backed-up basements, and flooding, is also a major cause of insurance loss in many states, so make sure to review all of these risks with your insurance agent.

Despite the mass exodus of so many insurers in Louisiana, there are still plenty of companies out there that provide home insurance. However, not all of them offer all of the coverage you need. Some companies have policies that only cover damage from specific types of natural disasters. Some companies are only selling LCPI, which isn't fully comprehensive. For the utmost safety of your family, your home, and your possessions, it's best to review your coverage with a trusted insurance agent in your state.

Bryan Fassbender
Fassbender Insurance Agency
+1 985-607-0291

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