The Best Home Insurance in Louisiana for 2024
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After a series of hurricanes in recent years, Louisiana homeowners insurance rates have risen, and some insurers have even fled the state. The average cost of homeowners insurance in Louisiana is $2,240 per year. In comparison, the national average is $1,915 per year.
However, you’ve still got options when it comes to finding quality coverage. NerdWallet analyzed data from several insurance companies selling policies in Louisiana to help you find the best home insurance in the state in the following categories:
The rates in our analysis are estimates based on many factors, so your rate may differ.
Best homeowners insurance in Louisiana for coverage: Chubb
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Chubb
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Chubb offers lofty coverage limits and plenty of perks. For example, the company covers water damage from backed-up sewers and drains, and pays to bring your home up to the latest building codes during reconstruction after a claim. (Many insurers charge more for these types of coverage.)
If you insure a secondary or seasonal home in Louisiana with Chubb, you can sign up for the company’s Property Manager service at no charge. With this service, a Chubb representative will inspect your home after a hurricane, report its condition to you, submit a claim on your behalf and help prevent further damage.
Learn more with our Chubb homeowners insurance review.
Best homeowners insurance in Louisiana for consumer experience: Amica
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Amica
Coverage options
Discounts
NAIC complaints
Rhode Island-based Amica stands out for its user-friendly digital experience and customer service. You can use the company’s website to get a quote, file and track claims, chat with a representative and manage your policy. The company has drawn significantly fewer consumer complaints to state regulators than expected for an insurer of its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or NAIC.
You can customize your policy with extra coverage above your dwelling limit, in case your house costs more to rebuild than expected. You may also want to add coverage for damage from water backups or recovery from identity theft.
Get more information in our Amica homeowners insurance review.
The best homeowners insurance in Louisiana
If you’re looking to buy homeowners insurance from a well-rated brand, consider one of these insurers, all of which have a NerdWallet star rating of 4.5 or higher.
Company | NerdWallet star rating | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
Not available | ||
Not available | ||
$4,750 | ||
Not available | ||
USAA* | $2,725 | |
*USAA homeowners policies are available only to active military, veterans and their families. | ||
How much does homeowners insurance cost in Louisiana?
The average annual cost of home insurance in Louisiana is $2,240. That’s 17% more than the national average of $1,915.
In most U.S. states, including Louisiana, many insurers use your credit-based insurance score to help set rates. Your insurance score is similar but not identical to your traditional credit score.
In Louisiana, those with poor credit pay an average of $4,010 per year for homeowners insurance, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis. That’s 79% more than those with good credit.
Average cost of homeowners insurance in Louisiana by city
How much you pay for home insurance depends on where in Louisiana you live. For example, the average cost of homeowners insurance in New Orleans is $2,240 per year, while homeowners in Baton Rouge pay $2,525 per year, on average.
City | Average annual rate | Average monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
Alexandria | $2,295 | $191 |
Baton Rouge | $2,525 | $210 |
Bossier City | $2,010 | $168 |
Covington | $2,190 | $183 |
Denham Springs | $2,515 | $210 |
Gonzales | $2,595 | $216 |
Gretna | $2,240 | $187 |
Hammond | $2,555 | $213 |
Harvey | $2,240 | $187 |
Houma | $2,870 | $239 |
Kenner | $2,240 | $187 |
Lafayette | $1,805 | $150 |
Lake Charles | $2,020 | $168 |
Mandeville | $2,190 | $183 |
Marrero | $2,580 | $215 |
Metairie | $2,240 | $187 |
Monroe | $2,340 | $195 |
New Iberia | $1,805 | $150 |
New Orleans | $2,240 | $187 |
Prairieville | $2,550 | $213 |
Shreveport | $2,165 | $180 |
Slidell | $2,190 | $183 |
Sulphur | $2,020 | $168 |
Thibodaux | $2,580 | $215 |
West Monroe | $2,330 | $194 |
The cheapest home insurance in Louisiana
Here are the insurers we found with average annual rates below the Louisiana average of $2,240.
Company | NerdWallet star rating | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
$1,005 | ||
Centauri | Not rated | $1,200 |
Not rated | $1,235 |
Why is home insurance so expensive in Louisiana?
A wave of recent hurricanes has caused a crisis in Louisiana’s homeowners insurance market. The storms left billions of dollars in damage, driving more than a dozen insurance companies out of the state or into insolvency.
That’s left homeowners scrambling to find new coverage and often paying significantly more as the companies that remain raise their rates. Many homeowners have had to buy policies from Louisiana Citizens, the state’s insurer of last resort. By law, Citizens must charge more than private insurers.
In addition to the lack of competition and the risk of insuring hurricane-prone homes, inflation is also contributing to Louisiana’s higher insurance premiums. With the price of labor and construction materials going up across the country, it costs more to rebuild a house after a claim, and insurers pass those costs along to their policyholders.
Because experts believe climate change is making hurricanes stronger, it will likely become increasingly expensive to insure a home located in the path of tropical storms.
What to know about Louisiana homeowners insurance
Common natural disasters in Louisiana include hurricanes, tropical storms, thunderstorms, tornadoes and hail, all of which can damage your home. Here’s how to make sure you’ve got the right coverage.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Its location on the Gulf of Mexico makes Louisiana a prime target for hurricanes and tropical storms. Most homeowners insurance policies cover damage from wind but not flooding, so you may want to buy separate flood insurance.
To check your flood risk, put your address into the Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood maps or visit RiskFactor.com, a website from the nonprofit First Street Foundation.
In high-risk coastal areas, home insurance policies may not cover wind damage. If that’s the case for you, Louisiana Citizens may be your only option for coverage. It offers homeowners and wind-only policies to people who can’t find insurance anywhere else.
If your policy does cover wind damage, check whether it has a separate deductible for hurricanes or named storms. (A deductible is the amount of a claim you’re responsible for.)
Many people choose a flat dollar amount such as $1,000 for their deductible, but a hurricane or named-storm deductible is often a percentage of your dwelling coverage limit. So if your home is insured for $200,000 and you have a 2% hurricane deductible, you’ll have to pay for the first $4,000 of hurricane damage.
Tornadoes
Because standard homeowners policies cover wind damage, most people don’t need to buy extra coverage for tornadoes. However, if you live in a coastal area at high risk for hurricanes and your insurer won’t cover wind, you won’t have tornado coverage either. Shop around or turn to Louisiana Citizens to make sure you’re covered.
Thunderstorms and hail
Your homeowners policy will generally cover some, but not all potential thunderstorm damage.
Hail, lightning and wind are typically covered. So if hail dents a few shingles or wind blows a tree onto your garage, most homeowners insurance policies will pay for the damage, minus your deductible. (Again, one exception is for homeowners on the coast whose insurers won’t cover wind.)
However, if a thunderstorm brings heavy rain and flash flooding, you might not have coverage for the subsequent water damage. Instead, that would fall under flood insurance.
Louisiana Department of Insurance
Got an insurance problem or question? The Louisiana Department of Insurance may be able to help. You can use the agency’s website to file a complaint about your insurer, learn the basics about your policy or look up insurance agents. You can call 800-259-5300 for live assistance.
Looking for more insurance in Louisiana?
NerdWallet calculated median rates for 40-year-old homeowners from various insurance companies in every ZIP code across the state. All rates are rounded to the nearest $5.
Sample homeowners were nonsmokers with good credit living in a single-family, two-story home built in 1984. They had a $1,000 deductible and the following coverage limits:
$300,000 in dwelling coverage.
$30,000 in other structures coverage.
$150,000 in personal property coverage.
$60,000 in loss of use coverage.
$300,000 in liability coverage.
$1,000 in medical payments coverage.
We made minor changes to the sample policy in cases where rates for the above coverage limits or deductibles weren’t available.
We changed the credit tier from “good” to “poor,” as reported to the insurer, to see rates for homeowners with poor credit.
These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
Star rating methodology
NerdWallet’s homeowners insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints, coverages, discounts and online experience. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our full homeowners insurance rating methodology.
Complaint methodology
NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2020-2022. To assess how insurers compare with one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home (including renters and condo) and life insurance.
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