Flood Insurance

The Plaquemines Parish community of Ironton, along the west bank of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans, flooded heavily during Hurricane Ida in 2021.

Insurance reform worsens affordability in flood-prone Louisiana

Flood insurance is a tenet of life in water-burdened Louisiana. But skyrocketing costs of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage are spurring significant departure from the program.

Mexico Beach, Fla., was ravaged by storm surge from Hurricane Michael in 2018. Repeated damaging storms in Florida fueled by climate change have caused some insurers in the state to go bankrupt and others to raise rates. A new study finds that increasing insurance premiums are leading to more mortgage defaults.

Coastal Desk

Climate change drives up insurance costs — and missed mortgage payments

Mario Alejandro Ariza, Floodlight

New study finds a $500 insurance hike boosts mortgage delinquencies by 20%, stressing housing impact of changing climate.

Workers shore up a temporary levee across Main Street in Grafton, IL on May 29, 2019. The Mississippi River reached its second highest crest ever at 35.17 ft 9 days later.

Coastal Desk

Mississippi River towns pilot new insurance model to help with disaster response

Delaney Dryfoos (The Lens)

Mayors along the Mississippi River have watched for years as intensifying rain storms and flooding wreak havoc on their communities.

Devin Davis, a candidate for Louisiana’s second congressional district, announced a plan to combat the home insurance crisis making homeownership unaffordable for communities who’ve lived here for generations.

Coastal Desk

To bring insurance companies back to Louisiana, some suggest tackling it as a federal issue

Delaney Dryfoos (The Lens)

At the height of hurricane season, Congressional candidate Devin Davis announces a plan to combat Louisiana’s home-insurance crisis. U.S. Rep. Troy Carter says he’s focused on a more apt federal concern: FEMA’s flood-hazard ratings.

A woman sits on a balcony of the Lake Houmas Inn after the roof caved in and floodwaters cover the parking lot on Aug. 30, 2021 following Hurricane Ida.

Coastal Desk

Hurricane season is here. Get these documents in order before a storm hits.

Carly Berlin

Have questions as we gear up for severe weather? Submit them at the form below and they'll help guide our coverage.

Home elevations, like this one at Old River Landing in Point Coupee Parish, are a common way to escape rising waters and reduce flood insurance premiums in Louisiana.

Coastal Desk

Your Flood Insurance Rate Is Probably Going Up: FEMA Announces New Rates Effective In October

Travis Lux

Flood insurance rates across the country are about to change in a big way, and it starts on Oct. 1.Here in Louisiana that mostly means increases. Eighty…

Coastal Desk

What New Flood Insurance Rates Could Mean For Louisiana

Tegan Wendland

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is set to release new rates this fall, and it’s likely to result in an increase in premiums for Louisiana…

Coastal Desk

Life Raft: Could Flood Insurance Sink Us Before The Water Does?

Travis Lux

Everyone knows flood insurance isn’t the most exciting topic. What this episode presupposes is: maybe it should be?It’s not difficult to imagine a future…

Coastal Desk

Louisiana's Severe Repetitive Loss Problem

Jessica Rosgaard

Properties that flood over and over again are a longstanding problem for FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program. Around 30,000 of the most…

Coastal Desk

The Uncertain Future Of Flood Insurance

Since last August, the popularity of flood insurance has again surged in Louisiana, but the future of the debt-laden National Flood Insurance Program is…