BATON ROUGE - Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says nine companies have applied to take part in an incentive program that aims to resolve a homeowners insurance crisis in the state.

Donelon held a news conference on Tuesday to discuss the progress of the Insure Louisiana Incentive Program, put in place to combat the insurance crisis after multiple companies backed out of the Louisiana market in 2022. 

Joining Donelon were Senate Insurance Committee Chair Kirk Talbot and House Insurance Committee Chair Mike Huval. The speakers detailed which companies have applied to participate, how much funding has been requested, and the timeline for further implementation of the program. 

The Insure Louisiana Incentive Program was implemented to incentivize insurance companies to serve south Louisiana after over 80,000 customers were left uninsured in 2022. Three companies pulled out of the Louisiana market due to their inability to recover from Hurricane Ida damages. 

Donelon said that eight out of nine companies that have applied for the program are already conducting business in the state, with one yet to come. He said that if all continues well with the applications, new policies should be ready to go out as soon as April. 

The incentive program is not a long-term fix, however, Donelon said. The insurance committee is currently looking to adopt a program adapted in Alabama that is reportedly growing in popularity. 

The Fortified Home Program provides Alabama homeowners with grants of up to $10,000 to strengthen and reinforce their roofs as a proactive measure against storm damage. The press conference did not go into great detail about how a similar plan would be enacted in Louisiana, but Donelon said that plans were in motion to adapt something like the Alabama program.