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Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon revealed SafePoint insurance company will acquire 30,000 homeowners’ policies after two insolvent carriers were taken over by state insurance officials in November.
SafePoint’s identity was kept hidden until the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge approved the plan. The Florida-based insurer has been licensed in Louisiana since 2015 and was one of three insurers that submitted bids to assume the policies.
“Policyholders can start the new year knowing that their homes are protected by a viable insurance company,” Donelon said in a statement. “I’m glad that we were able to find a proper landing spot for everyone in the private market and end this source of worry.”
Donelon had filed injunctions against State National Fire Insurance Co. of Baton Rouge and Access Home Insurance Co. of New Orleans over unpaid policyholder claims stemming from Hurricane Ida, a category 4 storm that made landfall Aug. 29.
The troubled companies were placed into receivership, where court-appointed officials attempted to “rehabilitate” them rather than liquidate their assets.
Donelon endorsed SafePoint’s takeover proposal due in part to the insurer’s commitment to purchase the 30,000 policies for the price of the unearned premiums, or the period remaining on each existing policy.
Under the agreement, SafePoint retroactively will cover all homeowners’ claims from Access Home and State National Fire policyholders beginning Dec. 1. SafePoint will be able to rewrite policy rates and coverage terms as the policies come up for renewal after March 2022, the department said.
The Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) is responsible for unpaid claims from Hurricane Ida and other events occurring before Dec. 1. LIGA covers up to $500,000 per claim, its website said.
LIGA is a nonprofit safety net entity that can access up to 1% of all state-member insurance companies’ annual funds to pay for a failing member’s financial obligations. Member insurers also receive state tax credits that are applied over a 10-year period.
While Donelon embraced the court-approved solution, many former Access Home and State National Fire policyholders will grapple with uncertainty in the coming months.
Louisiana has a homeowners’ insurance consumer protection law that will make it difficult for SafePoint to deny coverage or substantially change existing premium rates and coverage terms – providing Access Home and State National Fire policyholders were customers for more than three years.
SafePoint will have the option not to renew policyholders who had been Access Home or State National Fire customers for less than three years.
“Those customers may need to find new coverage at their renewal time,” the insurance department said.
If they cannot find homeowners’ coverage because of being high-risk or for any other reason, they will be forced to seek coverage from Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-backed insurer of last resort.
Louisiana Citizens must offer insurance at higher premium rates than private insurance companies to avoid a state-sponsored entity from competing with private businesses, the entity’s website explains.
“Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is required to ensure its rates are at least 10% above voluntary market rates,” a statement reads.
Before acquiring the 30,000 policies, SafePoint had $959,035 in direct written homeowners’ insurance premiums and 0.05% of the residential homeowners’ insurance market, the insurance department said.
Access Home and State National Fire had a combined $20.6 million in direct written premiums and 1% of the homeowners’ insurance market in Louisiana.

DEAR ABBY: A friend of 40 years got mad at me after the last presidential election. I told her I didn’t want to talk politics, since we voted for different candidates. She then emailed me saying she thought we should take a break from our long-distance phone calls. We had been calling each other every two weeks to catch up.
Because it has now been more than a year, I emailed her, texted her and finally left a message on her answering machine asking if she was still mad. (I did this over a period of a week.) Then I got worried, since she’s in her 80s. I finally called her daughter and was told she was in the hospital recovering from heart surgery. When her daughter told her I was trying to get in touch, I received a text that read, “Not mad. Just don’t want to talk.”
I hate to give up on a long friendship. Her birthday is coming up. Should I send her a birthday card, or respect her wishes and give up? – OLD FRIEND IN FLORIDA

DEAR OLD FRIEND: Please don’t jump to conclusions. People in the early stages of recovery from major surgery may not feel up to long discussions until they are stronger. By all means, send your friend a birthday card and include in it that you treasure your friendship and wish her a speedy and complication-free recovery. After THAT, the ball is in her court.

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to a lovely woman for 40 years. I recently found out that five years into our marriage she had an affair with a friend of ours. It lasted several weeks, during which they would meet at our house over the lunch hour.
My wife does not know this friend, having recently found religion, has confessed to me. I had suspected it for a few years. Should I tell her I know or just go on as though nothing happened? – IN THE KNOW IN ILLINOIS

DEAR IN THE KNOW: I cannot guess what justification this “friend” has given for trying to clear his conscience by telling you something that could destroy your marriage. The punishment for his guilt should have been the burden of carrying it to his grave without sharing it with you. If his confession will erode your relationship with your wife, tell her what you were told so you can talk it through.

DEAR ABBY: My neighbor’s husband died of COVID-related problems. I was never officially informed. About a week later, his clothing, favorite chair and other items were put on the curb in a free pile. While the pile is now gone, my concern is for the people who took the items. I will let you inform the world what might be the better solution. – PANICKED IN OREGON

DEAR PANICKED: I am glad to do that. The information is available to anyone who is interested. Folks, it’s as near as your computer. Fire it up and go to cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html, where you will find a “Frequently Asked Questions” section with information about how the virus is spread and how to avoid contracting it. From what I have read, germs on surfaces are less likely to spread the virus than person-to-person contact.

Lawrence Brooks, the oldest living World War II veteran in the United States, died Tuesday at the age of 112, his bishop confirmed.
Brooks lived in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans. He died in his own bed at home as per his wishes, his daughter and caregiver, Vanessa Brooks, told Military Times.
Funeral arrangements are pending, according to Rev. Morris Thompson Jr., the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. Brooks was a faithful member of St. Luke’s in New Orleans, the bishop said.
“When asked about the secret of living a long life, he would say: ‘Serve God and be nice to people,’” Thompson wrote in an email to church members. “On this day, take a moment to honor his faithful service to our country and to the church by being kind to everyone you meet.”
He has five children, five stepchildren, and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lost his wife, Leona, shortly after Hurricane Katrina.
Brooks celebrated his 112th birthday in September 2021 at his home in Central City as residents gathered for a drive-by celebration hosted by the National World War II Museum.
The museum typically hosts an annual party for Brooks, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, the party was brought to his front door for the past two years.
His most recent birthday party included a performance from the museum’s vocal trio, The Victory Belles, a Jeep parade and more entertainment from a collection of New Orleans musicians.
The City of New Orleans also recognized Brooks’ birthday with an official proclamation.
Brooks was still mentally sharp. The month after his birthday, he could tell decades-old stories of his childhood in Louisiana and rural Mississippi, of being drafted to join WWII. But his body was weak. Brooks’ hearing had become more limited, he lost his sight in one eye, and his vision was fading in the other. Several recent hospitalizations were taxing physically and emotionally, his daughter told a reporter last year.

The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) estimates the proportion of Omicron cases in the state has increased from 88.5% to 90.2% for the week ending Jan. 1.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates the proportion of Omicron in HHS Region 6 (which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) is 98.2%. Furthermore, 63 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes (98.4%) are at the two highest levels of community transmission; one remains unclassified due to low test volume. This is an increase from last week's 95%.
COVID-19 cases and emergency department visits are at an all-time high throughout Louisiana, and hospitalizations are high. These increases are attributable to the Omicron variant, which spreads faster than other variants and is now the dominant strain in our state.
LDH recommends getting vaccinated and boosted if eligible, masking indoors as well as outside when distancing is not possible, and limiting your exposure to those not in your household.
To learn about vaccination sites near you, call Louisiana's vaccine hotline at 855-453-0774. For a list of locations near you, visit https://ldh.la.gov/covidvaccine or text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) in English or VACUNA (822862) in Spanish.