Louisiana’s homeowners insurance market is moving in two directions at once. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple approved an average 7.5% rate cut for SureChoice Underwriters and Elevate, even as he signed off on a near 10% increase requested by State Farm.
State Farm’s increase stems from scale and exposure. The insurer writes about 20% of Louisiana’s residential homeowners policies, which leaves it carrying broader catastrophe risk.
The company relies less on reinsurance and more on internal risk models, including hurricane forecasting, and those projections point to higher future losses. Temple approved the increase on that basis.
According to Beinsure, smaller insurers operate differently. Temple said companies like SureChoice and Elevate lean heavily on reinsurance when setting rates.
“It’s good for consumers. It’s a step in the right direction. I certainly want and expect more rate decreases from additional companies, and we were able to make some meaningful property reforms and we’re starting to see the results of that,” Temple said.
In homeowners insurance, reinsurance costs make up a large share of pricing. When those costs fall, insurers can move quickly to adjust premiums downward, and that shift is now showing up in filings.
Reinsurance prices have started to ease, and Temple said those reductions flow straight through to consumers.
The result is lower premiums for policyholders insured by carriers whose balance sheets depend more on external risk transfer.
Temple framed the mixed outcome as evidence that recent legislative reforms are starting to bite. He said the rate cuts benefit consumers and signal progress, even if the changes don’t move every company in the same direction. He added that he expects more insurers to file for decreases as the market adjusts.
“They have a much bigger book of business in Louisiana. They write approximately 20% of all of the residential homes in the great state of Louisiana. Therefore, they got much broader exposure,” Temple explained.
Louisiana’s reforms focused on property insurance rules rather than forcing uniform pricing outcomes. According to Beinsure, that approach allows rate filings to reflect each carrier’s exposure, modelling, and reinsurance strategy, even when the results look contradictory on the surface.
