If you have a Louisiana Citizens policy, you are not locked in. You can shop the private market at any time, and many Citizens policyholders in the New Orleans area now have options they did not have two years ago. This guide explains how the market has changed, how Citizens' depopulation program works, what to do if you receive a takeout offer, and how to compare a private-market quote against your Citizens renewal before the renewal date arrives.
Why more Citizens policyholders are moving in 2026
Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is the state's insurer of last resort. By law it is meant to be the coverage you use when no private carrier will write your home, not the coverage you keep by default.
Three things changed the math for New Orleans homeowners:
- Rates have stopped climbing. Louisiana homeowners rate filings averaged a 14% increase in 2023, 6.6% in 2024, and 4.6% in 2025. Through the first part of 2026 the average filing was a 0.1% increase, and 9 of 16 finalized filings in 2026 were rate decreases, affecting more than 100,000 policyholders. (source)
- More carriers are writing here. The Louisiana Department of Insurance reports more than 20 new companies licensed to write homeowners coverage since 2024, seven of them entering in 2026. (source)
- Citizens is required to cost more than the private market. By statute, Citizens rates must sit at least 10% above the private market in each parish. A 2024 law suspended that 10% surcharge for policies issued or renewed after January 1, 2025, through the end of 2027, unless Citizens' share of a parish drops below a set level, so the gap is narrower for now, but Citizens is still designed to be the more expensive option over time. (source) ▶ REVIEWER: confirm the Act number and the current surcharge status on your Citizens agent portal.
Whether a private carrier will actually beat your Citizens renewal depends on your home's age, roof, construction, location, claims history, and the coverage and deductibles you choose. That is why the comparison, not the headline, is the step that matters.
How the Citizens depopulation program works
Depopulation is the formal process under Louisiana law (La. R.S. 22:2314) by which private insurers "take out" policies from Citizens and move them to the private market. Citizens runs it in numbered rounds, roughly once a year. (source)
Here is the sequence, in plain English:
- Citizens releases a list of eligible policies to approved private carriers, which pick the ones they are willing to write.
- Your agent of record must authorize the transfer. No policy moves to a takeout company without that authorization, and your current agent stays your agent after the move. (source)
- You receive written notice from both Citizens and the takeout carrier before the assumption date, including the premium, deductibles, and coverage the new carrier is offering.
- You can decline. The notice includes a "Request to Continue Coverage" (opt-out) form and a deadline. In recent rounds the assumption date has been December 1 with an opt-out window running through the following February 28. (source) ▶ REVIEWER: confirm Round 24 dates on lacitizens.com before publishing; a Round 23 assumption was reported for April 1, 2026 and Round 24 is expected to use a December 1, 2026 assumption date.
- If you do nothing, your policy transfers to the takeout carrier on the assumption date and renews with that carrier going forward.
Takeout carriers have generally agreed to offer the same or better rates than Citizens on assumed policies, but that varies by company and policy, so read the offer rather than assuming it is a win. (source)
What to check on a takeout offer letter
- Dwelling (Coverage A) limit: is it equal to or higher than your Citizens limit?
- Named-storm or hurricane deductible: is it a flat dollar amount or a percentage, and what does that come to in dollars? Our named-storm deductible guide walks through the math.
- Roof settlement: replacement cost or actual cash value, and is there a roof age schedule?
- Personal property, loss of use, and liability limits.
- Water, mold, and ordinance-or-law exclusions or sublimits.
- Total premium including fees, and the payment plan.
- The carrier's financial strength rating and how it handles claims after a storm.
You do not have to wait for a takeout offer
Depopulation is one door. The other is simply shopping. An independent agency can quote your home with the private-market carriers it is appointed with at any point in your policy year, and if a quote is better you can move at renewal or, in many cases, mid-term.
Two cautions:
- Citizens' minimum earned premium. Citizens policies carry a minimum earned premium provision that can make cancelling mid-term during hurricane season costly. Ask your agent to calculate what you would owe before cancelling early; moving at renewal usually avoids the issue. ▶ REVIEWER: confirm the current minimum earned premium wording from the Citizens policy form and cite it.
- Never let coverage lapse. Have the new policy bound and the effective date confirmed before the Citizens policy ends. Your mortgage servicer needs the new declarations page.
What this looks like for New Orleans-area homes
Many Citizens policies in Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard parishes date from the 2021–2023 period when private carriers pulled back after Hurricane Ida. Homes that were placed with Citizens then are exactly the ones new carriers are now looking at, especially houses with roofs replaced after 2021, elevated or slab construction that meets current code, and no open claims. A home in Gentilly or Chalmette with a five-year-old roof may quote very differently today than it did in 2023; a raised Uptown double with a 25-year-old roof may not. The only way to know is to run the numbers.
Your step-by-step plan
- Find your Citizens renewal date on your declarations page. Start 45–60 days before it.
- Gather: the declarations page, your roof age and any roof invoice, wind-mitigation or FORTIFIED documentation, and your four-point or home inspection if you have one.
- Ask your agent for private-market quotes with the same dwelling limit, then with the deductible and coverage options you would actually choose.
- Compare total annual cost and the named-storm deductible in dollars, not just the premium.
- If a private quote wins, bind it effective on your Citizens renewal date and let Citizens non-renew, or submit the cancellation with the new declarations page.
- If Citizens still wins, keep it, and set a reminder to re-shop in 12 months or when your roof is replaced.
