BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana's state-run property insurance company of last resort is planning to shed more than 10,000 policies, shifting the coverage to private insurers.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced this week that eight insurance companies have agreed to take over 10,304 residential coverage policies from the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.
Policyholders have 60 days after getting notification to stay with Citizens if they'd prefer.
The state-backed insurer has been steadily reducing the policies it holds after hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused an influx of customers who couldn't get coverage from private insurers.
With the latest transfer of policies, the insurance department says Citizens will have about 54,500 policies — down from 174,000 in 2008. Donelon's office says Citizens will have less than 1 percent of the Louisiana homeowners' insurance market.
