Latest Louisiana Headlines

All the headlines from our Louisiana Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Louisiana’s Main Street Recovery Program to Award Another $2.3M in Grants

Nov 23 2020 // The Louisiana Main Street Recovery Program is adding another $2.3 million in funding to increase the number of grants that can be awarded to eligible small businesses. The additional money comes from a transfer of...

Louisiana a Founding Member of ‘Cannabis Regulators Association’

Nov 20 2020 // Louisiana is one of 19 states that are now part of the newly formed non-partisan organization called the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA). The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) is a founding...

NTSB: Offshore Louisiana $750K Liftboat Loss Caused by Faulty Preload Procedure

Nov 20 2020 // The overturning of a liftboat servicing an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast was the result of an inadequate preload procedure, according to federal report. The National Transportation Safety Board...

Louisiana Issues Hurricane Zeta Data Call

Nov 19 2020 // Louisiana is seeking information from property/casualty insurers in the state about the impact of Hurricane Zeta. This latest data call from the Louisiana Department of Insurance is the third hurricane-related data call...

HSCM Bermuda Takes Majority Stake in Florida Insurer Southern Fidelity After Merger

Nov 18 2020 // After a tumultuous year that included double-digit rate increases, an intervention by the state regulator and a merger, Florida-based insurer Southern Fidelity Insurance Co. (SFIC) and its affiliated entities have ceded a...

Gray Surplus Lines Insurance to Launch Dec. 1 in Louisiana

Nov 18 2020 // Metairie, La.-based Gray Insurance Co. is expanding its excess casualty capabilities with the launch of Gray Surplus Lines Insurance Co. on Dec. 1, 2020. Domiciled in Louisiana and with an A.M. Best rating of A-...

Babineaux Named Chief Sales Officer at Louisiana’s Dwight Andrus Insurance

Nov 17 2020 // Dwight W. Andrus Insurance Inc., based in Lafayette, La., has appointed Erroll “Charlie” Babineaux Jr. chief sales officer. Babineaux joined Dwight Andrus Insurance in 2005. Since joining the firm, Babineaux...

6 Louisiana Parishes Named Disaster Areas: USDA

Nov 16 2020 // The federal government has designated six Louisiana parishes as contiguous natural disaster areas resulting from excessive rain and flooding, Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said. The weather...

Zeta’s Total Onshore U.S. Insured Losses Could Rise to $5B: RMS

Nov 16 2020 // Catastrophe risk modeler RMS has estimated that insured losses from Hurricane Zeta could rise to as high as $5 billion in the U.S. That figure is slightly higher than estimates announced earlier by catastrophe modelers AIR...

Louisiana Court Schedules Trial on First Coronavirus Business Interruption Lawsuit

Nov 12 2020 // A trial will begin Monday in what is thought to be the first lawsuit to be filed against an insurer for denying coverage for business-interruption losses caused by COVID-19 shutdown orders. Judge Paulette R. Irons ruled...

FEMA to Louisiana Homeowners: Don’t Pay Company for Blue Roof Tarps

Nov 12 2020 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency is letting homeowners know that its Operation Blue Roof is free, and they should let authorities know if any company tries to make them pay. The program installs tarps on damaged...

LA Times Paying $3M to Settle Journalist Discrimination Suit

Nov 12 2020 // The Los Angeles Times and Tribune Publishing have agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit that said minority journalists and women were paid less than white reporters. Nearly 240 current and former reporters and...

Grand Jury Indicts New Orleans Attorney in Staged Accident Probe

Nov 10 2020 // A New Orleans personal injury attorney has been indicted in connection with a widespread probe in to a series of staged accidents in Louisiana between personal and commercial vehicles. United States Attorney Peter G....

5 more Louisiana Parishes OK’d for Federal Disaster Assistance

Nov 10 2020 // The federal government has approved Louisiana’s request for FEMA individual assistance for five more parishes that were affected by Hurricane Delta, the governor’s office announced. The parishes are Beauregard,...

Hit to Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance from 2020 Storms Limited to $35M

Nov 9 2020 // Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens), the state’s insurer of last resort, will take only a $35 million financial hit from the 2020 hurricane season because of its reinsurance program, according to...

Judge: Louisiana Governor Can Renew Virus Restrictions, for Now

Nov 6 2020 // A Louisiana judge has declined to stop Gov. John Bel Edwards from renewing his COVID-19 restrictions amid a legal feud with House Republicans over the rules. Baton Rouge-based state district Judge William Morvant refused...

RMS: Total Onshore U.S. Insured Zeta Losses Could Rise to $5B

Nov 5 2020 // Catastrophe risk modeler RMS has estimated that insured on losses from Hurricane Zeta could rise to as high as $5 billion in the U.S. That figure is slightly higher than estimates announced by catastrophe modelers AIR...

Louisiana Arsonist Gets 25 Years for Torching 3 Black Churches

Nov 4 2020 // A Louisiana man who admitted to burning down three predominantly African American churches to promote himself as a “black metal” musician has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay the churches...

Hurricane Zeta Insured Loss Estimates Range from $1.5B to More than $4B

Nov 3 2020 // Insured losses from Hurricane Zeta — the fifth named storm to make landfall in Louisiana and the third hurricane to hit the state in the span of two months — will likely come in somewhere between $1.5 billion and $4.4...

Zeta Leaves Its Mark on Southeast States

Nov 2 2020 // Millions of people were without power and at least six were dead Thursday after Hurricane Zeta slammed into Louisiana and made a beeline across the South, leaving shattered buildings, thousands of downed trees and fresh...