It Figures

7%

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board has approved a 7 percent increase in statewide average homeowners rates. The company initially wanted a 14 percent increase, but the insurance department rejected that amount as unjustifiable. The state-backed insurer must submit a new rate structure annually; and policies must be priced 10 percent above the private market, except in 12 coastal parishes. The 7 percent statewide average increase means some policyholders could see higher increases and some will see rates decline, depending on their parish.

$50

Louisiana homeowners could receive $50 or more from the unused portion of an expired pot of government money used to lure insurance companies to the state, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said. The incentive program was aimed at improving homeowners’ access to private insurance after the 2005 hurricanes and removing policies from the state-backed Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The insurance department issued $29 million in grants through the program.

2,000

Some 2,000 people have applied for building permits on the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston, Texas, since Hurricane Ike hit the area Sept. 13, 2008. The Associated Press reported that the Texas First Bank and Gulf Coast Market are expected to reopen in March. Galveston County Commissioner Patrick Doyle told The Galveston County Daily News that the area will not be viable until the bank and grocery store reopen. About 5,900 structures were damaged, including 3,600 swept off their foundations, as Ike slammed ashore on Sept. 13.

21%

Crash deaths among drivers 70 and older fell 21 percent during the period of 1997-2006, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported, even though the population of people 70 and older rose 10 percent. Compared with drivers ages 35-54, older drivers experienced much bigger declines in fatal crash involvements during the study period. Reasons for the fatality declines aren’t clear, but another new Institute study indicated that older adults increasingly self-limit driving as they age and develop physical and cognitive impairments. There were more than 20 million licensed drivers 70 and older in 2006, compared with just under 18 million in 1997. The total annual miles these older drivers traveled climbed 29 percent from 1995 to 2001.

Topics Louisiana