Survey: Louisianans’ Views on Insurance Depend on Where They Live

Those who live inland and those who live along Louisiana’s coast differ in their viewpoint of homeowners and renter’s insurance, according to a new survey of registered Louisiana voters.

The survey by NORC (National Opinion Research Center) at the University of Chicago found, however, that Louisianans generally prefer a competitive marketplace for setting insurance prices and have little support for price setting in the insurance market by the state government.

The survey of 700 Louisiana registered voters conducted by NORC was funded by State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. and took place from February through April 2016. The study sought to understand the public’s view of state regulation of insurance — including pricing, competition and service.

Key Findings

• Attitudes about insurance and its cost are strongly affected by where a homeowner or renter lives, with the data showing differences across the board between those who live inland and those who live in coastal regions of Louisiana.
• Only 20 percent of respondents indicated the government should be responsible for setting prices. Only 16 percent of coastal residents voiced such support versus 21 percent of inland residents.
• More than half those surveyed said insurance companies in a competitive market should be responsible for setting prices.
• Overall, 49 percent feel the price of homeowner’s insurance is fair, with the inland versus coastal split standing at 42 percent (inland) and 53 percent (coastal).
• Just over half of the respondents (52 percent) agreed that consumers who submit a higher number of claims should pay higher prices. When asked if those living in an area prone to catastrophe should pay higher prices, 34 percent of coastal registered voters disagreed while only 17 percent of inland registered voters disagreed.
• While many registered voters said they feel they have enough choices when selecting an insurer (66 percent), 71 percent favored having more national companies offering coverage in their area. Coastal respondents were twice as likely as inland respondents to report not having enough choice (37 percent to 15 percent).
• In terms of satisfaction with service, coastal respondents report substantially lower levels of satisfaction on all service metrics, with between 10 and 15 percent fewer coastal registered voters reporting high levels of satisfaction, high likelihood to remain a customer of their current insurer, or high likelihood to recommend their current insurer than non-coastal registered voters.
• Overall, 57 percent of respondents reported high satisfaction with service.

The overall margin of error for the survey was +/- 3.7 percentage points.

NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent research institution.

Source: NORC

Topics Trends Louisiana