Louisiana Commissioner Temple Seeks $20M for Fortify Homes Program

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple expects lawmakers to allocate at least $20 million to the Lousiana Fortify Homes Program during the legislative session that begins on Monday.

The funds would applied to the program for use in the next fiscal year. The Fortify Homes Program grants up to $10,000 for homeowners to upgrade their roofs to standards set by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.

“Mitigation efforts like the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program demonstrate our commitment to increasing the resiliency of Louisiana’s homes and businesses, which is essential for attracting insurers to our marketplace and keeping our residents safe,” Temple said in a statement.

The Louisiana State Legislature allocated $30 million to the Fortify Homes Program in 2023, the first year of the program. The program was one of former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon’s final initiatives to address the state’s property insurance crisis.

As of the end of 2023, the program had taken 3,000 applicants, of which the first 1,500 were required to be Citizens policyholders.

A $20 million allocation to the program for the upcoming fiscal year would be $15 million more than Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry recommended in the state budget, according to a report from the Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office.

Temple in a statement said he has received support for “fully funding” the program from everyone he’s spoken with, from Landry to state legislators to members of the insurance industry.

Temple is expected to do away with the Insure Lousiana Incentive Program, another initiative spearheaded by Donelon. The program provides state-funded grants to insurers who commit to writing a certain amount of business in the state.

Last year lawmakers allocated $55 million to the program. Seven insurers received grants between $2 million and $10 million. Collectively they wrote more than 50,000 policies in 2023, primarily in southern Louisiana.