The Louisiana Department of Insurance plans to set consistent home insurance discounts for residents who upgrade to Fortified roofs, marking a new stage for the state’s fast-expanding mitigation initiative.
Just a year ago, the program had a little over 1,000 certified roofs. Now, it’s passed 10,000.
Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said at a Nov. 20 press conference that current discounts differ by region, a situation he expects to change soon.
He’d previously opposed mandating uniform rates, arguing the program lacked enough reach and data. That’s shifting.
Now with 10,000 homes, I think we’re getting to that critical mass. We’ve started the process to explore benchmarks like other states have done.
Tim Temple, Insurance Commissioner
The department confirmed by email it’s targeting January for benchmark discount levels, with more details to follow.
Launched in 2023, the Louisiana Fortified Homes program began with fewer than 320 IBHS-certified roofs, according to the state’s legislative auditor. Since then, growth has exploded – the fastest nationwide, Temple said.
Homeowners completing Fortified projects have seen premiums drop an average of 22%, while only 3.3% faced increases.
About 40% of the 10,000 new roofs were funded directly through the state’s program. The rest came through private momentum, often sparked by neighbours comparing discounts and outcomes.
“They hear about their neighbour getting a Fortified roof and the discount that comes with it,” Temple said. “When it’s time for them to replace their roof, what do they want? A Fortified roof.”
The initiative has reached beyond single-family homes too. More than 200 roofing projects for multifamily dwellings have been completed, providing sturdier, safer housing for nearly 2,000 families.
Maybe this is what scaled resilience looks like – community-led, data-backed, and moving fast toward real insurance reform in Louisiana.
In Louisiana the average annual premium for homeowners insurance in 2024 stood at about $4,031, which is $1,608 more than the U.S. average of $2,423.
According to Beinsure survey, 17 % of homeowners-insurance policy-holders in the state reported their insurer cancelled their policy in the previous year. The same survey found that 63 % of homeowners-insurance policy-holders said their coverage cost increased over the past year.
Research shows homeowners in Louisiana pay about 3.84 % of their family income on homeowners insurance — roughly double the national average of 1.93 %.
Between 2021 and 2022, Louisiana insurers paid out about $23 bn in losses while collecting only $5.2 bn in premiums during that period.
In that same period, the state saw roughly 758,360 residential claims filed from hurricanes such as Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta, Hurricane Zeta and Hurricane Ida.
From calendar years 2017-2021, the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) received 7,941 complaints about residential-property insurance, making up 37.6 % of all insurance complaints in that period.
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Of the complaints tied to the 2020-2021 hurricanes, 53.4 % cited “claim delay,” 28.7 % cited “unsatisfactory settlement/offer,” and 17.7 % cited “claim denial.”
In the two-year span of storm events, more than 800,000 claims were filed nationwide by Louisiana carriers, with payouts exceeding $23 bn, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
A 2023 survey by Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at Louisiana State University found that 17 % of homeowners-insurance policyholders reported their provider cancelled their policy in the previous year.
Within the same survey, 63 % of homeowners’-insurance policyholders said their premiums rose over the prior year.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance’s 2023-2024 annual report notes Louisiana ranked third highest in average cost of full homeowners coverage in 2023 at about $3,629 per year.
The U.S. Census Bureau identified Louisiana as one of the states with among the highest annual property-insurance costs for mortgaged homes in 2023; the median annual cost in Louisiana for mortgaged homes was about $2,140.
Industry commentary indicates average homeowners-insurance rate increases in Louisiana averaged 6.6 % in 2025, down from 16.2 % in 2022 and about 14 % in 2023.
Also, nearly 125,000 homeowners were insured through the state’s insurer of last resort (Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation) as of mid-2024, up dramatically from about 34,373 policyholders in 2020.
