Rep. Beth Billings will host an informational forum on insurance and assessment Thursday, Sept. 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Council on Aging in Luling.
Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Tim Temple and St. Charles Parish Assessor Tab Troxler will share information with attendees and answer questions and concerns.
Billings said the forum is part of an information campaign to help St. Charles Parish residents better understand the state’s insurance challenges and to answer questions about this year’s increase in property taxes.
“I hope [attendees] come back with understanding of why we are where we are and what our path forward looks like,” Billings said. “I can’t say, ‘come to the meeting and you’re going to leave happy.’ I doubt they will because of the extent of our challenges. But we all have to pull in the same direction.”
Billings said she encourages attendees to take notes, ask questions, and bring a copy of their homeowners insurance to see if there are ways to lower costs. Registration is not required to attend.
The forum will educate residents on what they can do on a personal level to potentially lower costs, and what the legislature can do, Billings said.
“Please come and learn more,” Billing said. “Bring your neighbor and friends. If you’re truly interested, come find out from the experts.”
Homeowners in the parish are grappling with high costs. After this year’s property reassessment, home values increased 30 percent, on average. The average rate of homeowners insurance in Louisiana increased by 23 percent this year.
Louisiana has the second highest homeowners insurance rate in the nation; its average rate is three times the national average. But insurance rates are increasing nationwide: from 2021 to 2023, the average rate of homeowners insurance increased by nearly 20 percent, according to Insurify.
Billings is optimistic that prices will eventually go down, but, in the meantime, she worries about residents who are on a fixed income.
“They can’t afford this,” she said. “Are they just going to self-insure and roll the dice? That’s not a good answer.”
One answer, Billing said, is more competition in the insurance market to bring costs down.
Billings said she and other representatives have received a lot of questions from constituents about insurance rates and property taxes. She said her own homeowners insurance increased by $3,000 this year and her property taxes increased by 40 percent.
“I feel their pain,” she said. “I wish I had a magic wand that could make it all change. That’s why we are having this forum, to try to figure this out.”
