Louisiana § RS 12:1851 - Legislative finding; public purpose

§ RS 12:1851. Legislative finding; public purpose

            A. Louisiana is currently experiencing a crisis in the availability and affordability of insurance for churches and nonprofit religious organizations. Louisiana property owners and their insurers sustained catastrophic losses in 2020 and 2021 from hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta, and Ida. As the result of their losses and their assessment of the risk of loss from future storms, many insurers, including the largest insurer of churches, have substantially reduced their participation in the voluntary market for property insurance. With fewer insurers in the voluntary market, competitive pressure on premium rates is reduced. Current underwriting practices have resulted in a substantial increase in the number of Louisiana churches that are forced to obtain their property insurance coverage or their wind and hail coverage from Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, if they can indeed find coverage.

            B. Increased premiums and assessments make property insurance coverage unaffordable for some churches and nonprofit religious organizations. Due to the fact that property insurance is often unavailable or unaffordable, many churches and nonprofit religious organizations are being forced to sell or abandon their churches and religious buildings or are prevented from restoring storm-damaged properties.

            C. Throughout Louisiana, churches and other religious organizations are the bedrock that holds many communities together. In addition to providing spiritual and emotional support for their membership in times of crisis, churches and other nonprofit religious organizations provide services to the needy such as soup kitchens, food pantries, orphanages, adoption services, and foster care. Churches and other nonprofit religious organizations provide mentorship for the youth, assistance to the elderly, and disaster relief services when hurricanes and tornadoes strike. Churches and other nonprofit religious organizations also provide much-needed hope, help, and services for those individuals in addiction recovery. Church-supported nonviolent offender programs at places such as the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola have greatly reduced violence in these facilities and greatly reduced recidivism rates in the state. This voluminous list of services, most of which are provided free of charge to the community, results in the savings of untold millions of dollars each year to state and local taxpayers.

            D. The availability of property insurance for churches and other nonprofit religious organizations at a reasonable cost is essential to the well-being of the state. Churches and other religious organizations cannot invest in, and lenders will not finance, the construction and ownership of churches and religious buildings without adequate property insurance protection. The state has a vital interest in fostering the availability of property insurance at reasonable costs for churches and other religious organizations.

            Acts 2023, No. 259, §§1, 3A, eff. June 12, 2023.