Newswise — The Gulf Coast faces an expected active 'above-normal' hurricane season, with many insurance carriers withdrawing from the market. Homeowners are left with skyrocketing rates and dwindling options for coverage. Louisiana bore the brunt with four major hurricanes in 2020 and 2021, causing $75 billion in combined damage. The state passed a series of insurance reforms to attract more insurance companies, following in the footsteps of Florida.
Insurance woes for homeowners aren’t just a coastal issue. Homeowners in the Midwest are struggling with insurance carriers because of damage from the record amount of tornadoes. Wildfires in the US are also a growing threat to insurance carriers, accounting for an annual total cost between $394 billion and $893 billion.
Christopher Otten, an insurance and legal expert at Tulane University’s A. B. Freeman School of Business, is available to speak about the impact of new hurricane insurance regulations in several states, the challenges of holding insurance carriers accountable from state to state and the difficulties property owners face in finding hurricane insurance.
Christopher can also discuss:
- Why insurance markets differ among the states in the Gulf Coast region.
- The Fortified Roof incentive programs
- Affordability and the need for more carriers to improve competition and pricing risk.
Christopher Otten Quote:
“The Gulf States are the canaries in the coal mine right now for insurance markets,” Otten said. “It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. A quiet hurricane season, as unlikely as that is, will help things some – but that doesn’t mean rates will not go up or down. They may increase less than they otherwise would have. With these new laws, particularly in Louisiana, it will take a hurricane for us to really know how the new regulations are shaping out.”
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