Farm Bureau lowers some rates

Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance customers in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes could see their homeowners rates drop nearly 9 percent on average when the policies are renewed in November, according to a company proposal.

Those rates are part of the Farm Bureau companies’ proposal to reduce rates an average of 0.32 percent statewide, according to records filed with the Louisiana Department of Insurance. The Farm Bureau companies have 59,100 homeowner’s policyholders.

Farm Bureau’s proposed rates in the local area include:

• Average reductions of 8.7 percent in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes.
• Average increases of 0.8 percent in Ascension, West Baton Rouge, East and West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee parishes.
• Rates in Lafayette Parish will remain roughly the same, said Brian VanDreumel, Farm Bureau’s manager of actuarial/research and development.

The state Insurance Department must sign off on the proposed rates, which include Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co., Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. and Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co.

Farm Bureau had lower claims for fire, water damage and liability, and those results helped offset the continued increases in the cost for catastrophe reinsurance, VanDreumel said.

Global catastrophic events have increased the price of reinsurance, VanDreumel said. Reinsurance is the coverage insurance companies acquire to protect themselves against excessive claims.

VanDreumel said he could not disclose the number of customers by parish, as Farm Bureau considers that information proprietary.