If your home is insured by Louisiana’s state-backed insurer of last resort, you can expect to pay a whole lot more starting this fall.

The Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, which insures property that private insurers won’t, is hiking rates in Terrebonne by an average of 39 percent, officials said.

The bump, an average of 18 percent statewide, will go into effect Oct. 1, pending approval from the state Insurance Department.

Citizens is required by law to have the highest-priced policies in the market, CEO John Wortman said. Apparently, he added, "The marketplace thought they were underpriced in Terrebonne."

About 10,000 Terrebonne Parish homeowners have a policy with Citizens -- that’s roughly one of every four families in the parish. Consumers here currently pay an average of $1,400 per year for wind-and-hail protection.

Lafourche can expect an increase, too, a roughly 7 percent hike for each of Citizens’ 8,500 policyholders.

In St. James, the rates will rise 25 percent; in Assumption the increase is an average of 54 percent.

Rates for commercial policies, however, will stay the same.

Wortman said the escalating rates mean more private options are available locally. His advice: talk to your agent and see if you can find a cheaper private option.

As for insurance through Citizens, he said, "We’re there when people can’t get it anyplace else."

But Citizens’ policyholders reached by telephone Tuesday were floored by the increase.

"That’s unreal," said Emilie Blanchard of Chauvin. Her husband is a commercial fisherman, she explained, and the costs of ice, diesel and fuel are already making it tough to make ends meet.

She declined to say how much she pays for insurance now. But such an increase "would be overwhelming in that kind of price range," she said

As for getting a new policy with a private insurer, some Citizens’ customers said that is easier said than done.

"It’s already ridiculous," said David Ohlmeyer, director of the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center.

Ohlmeyer said he pays $2,200 for wind-and-hail coverage and $1,000 to cover fire and liability for his 2,400-square foot house. He’s already transferred his fire and liability coverage to a private insurer, but he said he still can’t find a policy to cover the rest.

He doesn’t need an incentive to look for different coverage, he said. "I’m constantly looking for a new policy," he said.

High insurance rates go beyond the dent in local consumers’ pockets and also take a bite out of local economic development, said Kenny Smith, CEO of the Houma-based engineering firm T. Baker Smith Inc.

When trying to recruit new employees, he said, candidates have turned down jobs because insurance rates make purchasing a home prohibitive.

He understands the predicament of insurance companies, but the issue has wider implications, he said.

"I just think that’s going to be the biggest obstacle we’ve got," he said.

Staff Writer Kathrine Schmidt can be reached at 857-2204 or