More than 65,000 people in Louisiana have dropped their federal flood insurance policies since 2021, federal records show, raising concerns that recovery from Hurricane Francine will take years.
The Category 2 storm made landfall Wednesday morning, a day after Vice President Kamala Harris warned during the presidential debate about the rising cost and scarcity of property insurance. Francine caused record rainfall and extensive flooding in some areas of Louisiana before being downgraded Thursday morning to a tropical depression.
Insurance companies nationwide have sharply increased rates and dropped coverage since 2021 as they faced huge losses due in part to natural disasters and climate change. Harris highlighted that trend Tuesday, stressing that a consequence of climate change is that people are “either being denied home insurance or [their premium] is being jacked up.”
The insurance crisis is most severe in Louisiana, where homeowners’ policies cost $4,000 a year on average — second only to Florida — and residents spend the highest share of their income on property coverage, said Benjamin Albright, president of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Louisiana.
