Allstate Raising Louisiana Homeowner Rates

Allstate Corp. is raising rates for 144,000 Louisiana homeowners who get their insurance coverage from two Allstate companies.

The company announced Tuesday that about 71,000 homeowners insured by Allstate Insurance Co. will see their rates increase by 11.3 percent, while 73,000 Allstate Indemnity Co. policyholders will see an average increase of 5.4 percent as of March 1.

Allison Hatcher, spokeswoman for Allstate’s southern region, says the higher premiums are the result of the rising cost of reinsurance, an industry-wide trend.

Reinsurance is the coverage that insurance companies buy to protect themselves from excessive claims.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon tells The Advocate the rate increase will be the same regardless of the area percentagewise because the change is entirely due to higher reinsurance charges.