La. regulator places Lighthouse Property Insurance in receivership

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon put Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. into receivership after it incurred significant losses from hurricanes that struck in 2020 and 2021.

The regulator said in a statement that Lighthouse became the fourth insurer in Louisiana to exhaust its reinsurance coverage and become insolvent in the aftermath of hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta, which cost insurers $10.6 billion, as well as Hurricane Ida, which alone is projected to cost insurers between $10 billion and $15 billion.

The Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association now takes over claim payments, and a court-appointed receiver is in charge of operating the insurer. As of year-end 2021, Lighthouse Property Insurance controlled more than 3% of the Louisiana homeowners market.

In February, the insurer had stopped offering new policies across the board to customers in Florida, where it also has significant operations.