Louisiana kicks off big expansion of fortified roofs. See how many grants are available.

SAM KARLIN, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.The Advocate

Louisiana will dole out a record 3,000 grants to help homeowners put fortified roofs on their homes in the coming weeks, after elected officials agreed on a bill that injects $50 million into the program.

Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said Wednesday his office will open up a lottery for the next batch of grants from June 1 to June 19.

Until now, the program has seen far more demand than supply, with only about 20% of people who sign up for the lotteries winning grants. Homeowners have been desperate for relief from staggering property insurance costs in recent years, and fortified roofs have proven to save homeowners money on their premiums.

But lawmakers, Temple and Gov. Jeff Landry agreed on House Bill 1187 by Rep. Paul Sawyer, R-Baton Rouge, which will allow the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to send excess funds from Hurricane Katrina-era emergency bonds to the fortified roof program. The move is expected to net $50 million for the program, on top of $30 million in annual dedicated funding.

Landry signed the bill at a news conference Wednesday at the state Capitol.

“People want to protect their homes,” he said. “Louisianans are hungry for solutions that will actually work and drive down their insurance costs.”

The new lottery round in mid-June represents the first 3,000 of 8,000 grants the state will be able to fund this year. The Insurance Department is also expanding the eligibility criteria to include more parishes, not just those closest to the coast.

Parishes newly eligible to participate include Lafayette, Acadia and Jefferson Davis. Homeowners who had previously been excluded are also now eligible in Ascension, Calcasieu, Iberia, Livingston, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Vermilion parishes.

Fortified roofs have emerged as a bipartisan solution to the state’s homeowners' insurance crisis, which has driven premiums to unsustainable levels for thousands of Louisianans. Around the nation, climate change and inflation have caused a spike in insurance rates, particularly in places where wildfires, hurricanes and other types of severe weather are worsening.

“Risk is why we pay so much money,” Sawyer said at the press conference. “This bill represents managing risk and promoting resiliency.”

The 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons ratcheted up crisis here, as a dozen insurers went belly up and tens of thousands of Louisianans were forced onto the rolls of Citizens, the insurer of last resort.

Elected leaders have searched for ways to get more money into the fortified roof grant program. Louisianans have proved eager to fortify their homes: Nearly 5,000 have put new roofs on through the grant program, which gives homeowners $10,000 each. In total, 13,000 people have put fortified roofs on their homes in Louisiana, meaning most people are doing it on their own dime.

Landry earlier this year asked the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation to use some of its money to fund the program, but the idea didn’t go anywhere. Instead, Temple and legislative leaders landed on Sawyer’s bill.

The legislation targets money that Citizens raised by assessing policyholders a fee, part of a 20-year effort to raise money to pay off emergency bonds needed to pay claims after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Having raised enough money to pay off the bonds, Citizens finally canceled the surcharge last year. But it took months for insurers to stop collecting the money, leaving Citizens with $64 million in excess funds. Citizens is expected to send $50 million of that to the fortified program.