If you live in a special flood hazard area (SFHA) and have a federally-backed mortgage such as an FHA, VA, or USDA loan, flood insurance may be mandatory. If you don’t meet those two criteria, flood insurance isn’t mandatory in Louisiana, but your mortgage lender may strongly advise that you carry it — and it’s usually a good idea. 

Under Louisiana’s stated value law, homeowners may request a stated value policy from their insurance company, which insures their home up to the amount of their outstanding mortgage balance rather than their home’s replacement cost. A stated value policy can reduce premiums for homeowners struggling to afford coverage by any other means, but it involves taking on significant financial risk. 

The Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the “insurer of last resort” for high-risk homes in the Pelican State, is extremely unlikely to go bankrupt. That’s because whenever the Coastal or FAIR Plan hits a deficit for a given year, state law permits LA Citizens to demand a 10% assessment from all private insurers in the state. This means they’re required to turn over 10% of their earned premium to Citizens to fund the pool. These costs may be passed on to private insurers’ policyholders, though, through rate increases.

No, you can’t receive a tax credit for your home insurance premiums in Louisiana. State lawmakers recently proposed a bill that would introduce such a credit, but it died in committee in 2025 and has not been reintroduced. 

Under state law, Louisiana insurance companies must pay a property insurance claim within 30 days of receiving satisfactory proof of loss.

The Louisiana Fortify Homes program has closed grant applications and has not yet announced when applications will reopen in 2026. In past years, grant rounds have been announced late August or early September. Homeowners can sign up for announcements regarding future grant rounds on the program website.