Louisiana Roof Insurance Claims
Louisiana overhauled its insurer claims-handling law effective July 1, 2024: the former good-faith-duty statute, La. R.S. 22:1973, was repealed, with its duty folded into La. R.S. 22:1892(I), and a new dedicated statute, La. R.S. 22:1892.2, was created specifically for catastrophic-loss claims - the category most hurricane and storm roof claims fall into.
Verified against the Louisiana Revised Statutes as published through the 2025 First Extraordinary Session. As of the Legislature's August 19, 2026 update, Title 22 had not been republished for the 2026 Regular Session.
Last updated:
TL;DR
Louisiana rewrote its claims law effective July 1, 2024: the good-faith duty now sits in La. R.S. 22:1892(I), and most hurricane and storm roof claims fall under the catastrophic-loss statute, La. R.S. 22:1892.2, which requires payment within 60 days of satisfactory proof of loss. A separate hurricane deductible applies per calendar year, not per storm.
Wind and hail deductible
Many coastal and storm-prone states require a separate wind or hail deductible, often expressed as a percentage of dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount. This is separate from your all-perils deductible and typically larger.
The deductible applies per year, not per storm
If your Louisiana homeowners policy carries a separate named storm or hurricane deductible, it applies on an ANNUAL basis to all named storm and hurricane losses in the same calendar year - not per storm. Two hurricanes in one season do not mean paying the full deductible twice - La. R.S. 22:1337(B). Most homeowners do not know this.
| Mandatory separate wind/hail deductible | No. La. R.S. 22:1337 does not require a separate named storm, hurricane, or wind/hail deductible, and does not cap or standardize its size. The statute governs only how a separate deductible applies once a policy contains one - the amount itself is set by the policy, not the state. Check your declarations page for your actual figure. |
| Typical range | Not set by statute - Louisiana law does not standardize an amount. Your policy's required disclosure form (for policies effective after January 1, 2023) lists your specific deductible as a percentage of insured value, a dollar amount, or both - La. R.S. 22:1337(D)(1). |
| Applies to | Homeowners' insurance policies, or other policies insuring a one- or two-family owner-occupied premises for fire and allied lines, issued or renewed by an authorized insurer on or after January 1, 2010 - La. R.S. 22:1337(B). |
| Definitions | "Hurricane" and "named storm" both mean a storm system declared as such by the National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service - La. R.S. 22:1337(A)(1) and (2). A "separate deductible" may be expressed as a percentage of insured value or as a dollar amount, and includes hurricane, named-storm, and wind and hail deductibles - La. R.S. 22:1337(A)(3). |
| Second or later storm in the same year | For a second or later named storm or hurricane in the same calendar year, the insurer may apply either the remaining amount of the separate deductible or the all-other-perils deductible, whichever is greater - La. R.S. 22:1337(C). |
| Recordkeeping | Insurers may require you to keep receipts or other records of losses in order to apply them to subsequent named-storm or hurricane claims - La. R.S. 22:1337(C). Keep documentation from the first storm of the season in case a second storm hits before that claim is fully resolved. |
| Disclosure form | The commissioner prescribes a separate form listing the specific dollar or percentage amount of each named storm, hurricane, and wind and hail deductible. For policies with an effective date after January 1, 2023, the insurer must provide this form and get the insured's signature - La. R.S. 22:1337(D)(1). A new form is required if the percentage changes, but not if only the dollar amount changes because policy limits increased - La. R.S. 22:1337(D)(2). The form is informational only and does not alter the policy's actual terms - La. R.S. 22:1337(D)(3) - and it creates no independent cause of action - La. R.S. 22:1337(D)(5). |
Homeowners got this protection 13 years before commercial policies
Commercial policyholders received the equivalent annual-deductible protection only for policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, and that protection excludes policies with a total insured value of $20 million or more - La. R.S. 22:1267.1(B). Louisiana homeowners have had this protection since 2010.
Source: La. R.S. 22:1337, read in full at legis.la.gov; commercial contrast at La. R.S. 22:1267.1(B).
Prompt payment law
State prompt payment statutes set deadlines for how quickly an insurer must acknowledge, accept or deny, and pay a claim. Missing these deadlines can entitle you to penalty interest.
Two separate tracks
Louisiana splits prompt-payment obligations into two separate tracks depending on whether the loss is a "catastrophic loss" as statutorily defined. Most hurricane and named-storm roof claims fall under the catastrophic track below, not the general track.
Non-catastrophic losses
| Pay claim within | 30 days after receipt of satisfactory proofs of loss from the insured or any party in interest - La. R.S. 22:1892(A)(1). |
| Initiate loss adjustment within | 14 days after notification of loss by the claimant, except in the case of catastrophic loss, which uses the timeline in the catastrophic-loss track below - La. R.S. 22:1892(A)(3). |
| Written settlement offer | A written offer to settle any property damage claim, including a third-party claim, is required within the applicable deadline after receipt of satisfactory proofs of loss - La. R.S. 22:1892(A)(4). |
| Field adjuster report to insured | The insurer must issue a copy of its field adjuster report to the insured within 15 days of receiving the insured's request for it - La. R.S. 22:1892(A)(5). |
| Check processing | No unreasonable delay in processing a claim check beyond 3 calendar days - La. R.S. 22:1892(C)(2). Penalty for violating this: $200 or 15% of the face amount of the check, whichever is greater - La. R.S. 22:1892(C)(3). |
| Late-payment penalty | 50% of the amount found due, or $1,000, whichever is greater, plus proven economic damages, reasonable attorney fees, and costs - but only where the insurer's failure is found to be arbitrary, capricious, or without probable cause - La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(1)(a). |
| Penalty claims prescribe in | Claims for these penalties and attorney fees are subject to a 2-year liberative prescription - La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(7). |
Catastrophic losses
This is the branch that applies to most hurricane and named-storm roof claims.
| Definition of "catastrophic loss" | "Catastrophic loss" means a loss arising from a natural disaster, windstorm, or significant weather-related event that was a presidentially declared emergency or disaster, or a gubernatorially declared emergency or disaster - La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(1)(c)(i). |
| Pay claim within | For catastrophic losses to residential property, the insurer must transmit payment within 60 days after receipt of satisfactory written proof of loss - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(A)(2). |
| Initiate loss adjustment within | 30 days after notification of loss, extendable by the insurance commissioner by up to 30 additional days for a declared emergency or disaster - La. R.S. 22:1892(A)(3). |
| Late-payment penalty | 50% of the amount found due, or $2,500, whichever is greater, plus proven economic damages, reasonable attorney fees, and costs - again only where the failure is arbitrary, capricious, or without probable cause - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(B)(1). |
| Penalty claims prescribe in | Claims for these penalties and attorney fees are subject to a 2-year liberative prescription - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(B)(2). This is a different clock from the deadline to sue on the underlying claim - see "Deadline to sue" below. |
| Immovable property (roof) note | For a catastrophic loss to immovable property (a house, including its roof), the general non-catastrophic penalty provision at La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(1)(a) does not apply - La. R.S. 22:1892.2 governs instead - La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(1)(b). |
Source: La. R.S. 22:1892 and La. R.S. 22:1892.2, Louisiana Revised Statutes, current text read at legis.la.gov.
Cure period notice
Before an insured can sue an insurer for penalties on a catastrophic-loss claim, the insured must first give the insurer a formal written "cure period notice." This is the single most actionable procedural step on this page.
60 days' written notice is a condition precedent to suing
60 days' written notice to the insurer of the violation, given by the insured or the insured's representative, is a condition precedent to bringing a penalty action under this Section - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(C)(1).
| Form the notice may take | The notice may be provided either through a form transmitted by the Department of Insurance, or by a formal written demand that provides sufficient notice of the facts and circumstances of the dispute - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(C)(2). |
| If insurer pays in full within 60 days | If the insurer pays the full amount alleged to be due in the notice within 60 days - together with any actual expenses claimed in the notice, including attorney fees not exceeding 20% of the amount alleged due - there is no further cause of action on that noticed demand - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(C)(3). |
| If insurer pays partially within 60 days | If the insurer does not pay the full amount demanded but makes a partial payment within 60 days, the penalty otherwise due on the amount actually paid is reduced by half - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(C)(4). |
| Insurer must respond within | The insurer that receives a cure period notice must respond to the insured or the insured's representative within 60 days - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(C)(5). |
| Effect on prescription deadline | If a cure period notice is sent within the last 90 days before prescription runs, the applicable prescriptive period is suspended until 30 days after the insurer transmits its written response to the notice - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(C)(6). |
| Suit filed before notice | A suit filed before the cure period notice is transmitted is automatically stayed until 60 days after the notice is received, and the delay for answering that suit is automatically extended until 30 days after the cure period ends - La. R.S. 22:1892.2(C)(7). |
Recoverable depreciation
Most states allow carriers to withhold depreciation until repairs are complete (the standard RCV structure). Some states restrict this or give policyholders additional recourse.
| Contractor overhead and profit | General contractor overhead and profit must be included in the claim payment wherever a general contractor's services are reasonably foreseeable for the type of loss. This applies to both replacement cost and actual cash value policies - La. R.S. 22:1892(F)(1). |
| No premature ACV deduction | Prospective contractor overhead, prospective contractor profit, and sales tax may not be deducted in determining actual cash value, on either a replacement cost or an actual cash value policy - La. R.S. 22:1892(F)(2). |
| Depreciation must be reasonable | Depreciation must be reasonable, and must be based on objective criteria combined with a subjective assessment that includes the property's actual pre-loss condition - La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(6)(e). |
| Written explanation required | The insurer must provide the insured with a written explanation of how depreciation was calculated - La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(6)(d). |
| Proof of deductible payment | An insurer may refuse to release withheld recoverable depreciation until it receives reasonable proof that the policyholder has paid the deductible. Reasonable proof includes a cancelled check, money order receipt, credit card statement, or an executed installment plan or financing arrangement - La. R.S. 22:1892(A)(7). |
Stronger than our general guide
This is more protective than the general depreciation guidance on this site's how-does-roof-depreciation-work guide, which describes typical industry practice rather than a legal requirement most states impose. Louisiana homeowners have a statutory right to a written depreciation explanation and to have contractor overhead and profit included - rights that are not universal.
Source: La. R.S. 22:1892(F)(1), (F)(2), (B)(6)(d), (B)(6)(e), and (A)(7).
Valued Policy Law (total loss)
Where a fire insurance policy places a valuation on covered inanimate, immovable property and uses that valuation to set the premium, the insurer must pay that valuation in full on a total loss — no depreciation, no deduction, no offset - La. R.S. 22:1318(A).
Two conditions must both be met: (1) the loss must be a total loss, not a partial loss — roof-only damage on a standing structure does not trigger the valued policy law; and (2) the insurer must have placed a valuation on the property and used that valuation to determine the premium. If your policy does not use a stated property valuation to set your premium, this section does not apply even on a total loss.
| Alternative loss-computation method | The insurer may use a different method to compute the loss, but only if both the policy and the application set out that method in type of equal size — La. R.S. 22:1318(A). Check your policy's loss-computation clause and the application you signed for any alternative method printed at the same type size as the surrounding text. |
| Criminal fault | Coverage may be voided if the insured or the insured's assigns are at criminal fault — La. R.S. 22:1318(A). |
| Contrary clauses | Any policy clause contrary to this section is null, void, and of no legal effect. An insurer may still cancel or reduce coverage before damage or destruction occurs, as provided by law — La. R.S. 22:1318(B). |
| Insurable interest | The insurer's liability on a total or partial loss cannot exceed the insured's insurable interest in the property. The insurer may question or contest insurable interest — La. R.S. 22:1318(C). |
| Scope | This section applies only to policies issued or renewed after January 1, 1992, and does not apply to blanket-form policies — La. R.S. 22:1318(D). 'Fire insurance policy' means any property insurance policy that covers the peril of fire, except builders risk, regardless of any other coverage the policy provides — La. R.S. 22:1318(D). An ordinary homeowners policy therefore falls within this section, because it covers fire, even when the specific loss came from a hurricane or windstorm rather than fire. |
What this means for roof claims
Total loss is rare on a roof-only claim but occurs in hurricanes that destroy the entire structure. Where the valued policy law applies, it bypasses the ACV/RCV depreciation question entirely — the insurer pays the policy valuation. See the ACV vs. RCV guide for how depreciation works on claims where total loss does not apply.
Source: La. R.S. 22:1318(A)–(D), read in full at legis.la.gov.
Declared emergency protections
Separate from the catastrophic-loss claims-handling rules above, Louisiana law gives homeowners extra time and protection when a declared emergency limits access to their property.
| Proof-of-loss deadline extension | The time limit for filing a proof of loss may not be less than 180 days, and that clock does not start running while a declaration of emergency is in effect and civil authorities are denying access to the property - La. R.S. 22:1264(A). |
| One-year repair window | A policyholder with replacement cost provisions may complete repairs within one year from the date of loss, or from the date the applicable insurance proceeds were issued, whichever is later, and is then entitled to the full value of the repaired covered damage without any reduction for depreciation - La. R.S. 22:1264(B). |
| Applies to | Applies to homeowner policies delivered or renewed in Louisiana after April 18, 2006 - La. R.S. 22:1264(C). |
Source: La. R.S. 22:1264.
Deadline to sue
24 months is a floor, not the deadline
24 months is a floor, not the deadline. Your own policy may allow longer than 24 months - check your specific policy language rather than assuming 24 months is the cutoff.
| Statutory floor | A policy may not limit an insured's right of action on a first-party claim to less than 24 months from the inception of the loss - La. R.S. 22:868(B). |
| Coverage classification | Homeowners' insurance is classified at La. R.S. 22:47(15), and fire and allied lines - which covers windstorm and hail - at La. R.S. 22:47(10)(b). Both classifications fall within the list of coverages the 24-month floor at 22:868(B) applies to. |
| vs. penalty-claim prescription | This is a different clock from the 2-year prescriptive period for penalty and attorney-fee claims under La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(7) and La. R.S. 22:1892.2(B)(2). The 24-month floor governs your right to sue on the underlying claim; the 2-year prescription governs a separate penalty claim. Do not assume they run together. |
Source: La. R.S. 22:868(B); La. R.S. 22:47(15) and (10)(b).
Appraisal
| Requirement | Residential property insurance policies must contain a statutory appraisal clause - La. R.S. 22:1892(G). |
| Timeline | 20 days to name an appraiser after a written demand for appraisal; 15 days for the two appraisers to agree on an umpire, after which either party may petition a court to appoint one; 30 days for the appraisers to agree or submit their differences to the umpire, extendable to 60 days by written agreement of the parties. |
| Costs | Each party pays its own appraiser. Umpire fees and other appraisal expenses are split equally between the parties. |
Source: La. R.S. 22:1892(G).
Non-renewal
This protection no longer applies to newer policies
Subsections D and E of La. R.S. 22:1265 - the three-year non-renewal protection described in most Louisiana insurance guides - do NOT apply to any policy issued after August 1, 2024 - La. R.S. 22:1265(K). For newer policies, this protection simply doesn't apply; most sources describing it as a general Louisiana rule have not caught up to this change.
| Three-year protection (older policies) | For a homeowner's policy that has been in effect and renewed for more than three years, and that was in place at least three years on or before August 1, 2024, an insurer may not cancel or fail to renew except for nonpayment of premium, fraud of the insured, a material change in the risk being insured, two or more claims within a continuous three-year period within the five years preceding the current renewal date, or where continuation of the policy endangers the insurer's solvency - La. R.S. 22:1265(D)(1). |
| What the protection doesn't cover | This protection does not apply where the insurer withdraws entirely from the Louisiana homeowners market, or to modification of policy deductibles. Modifying coverages at renewal is not itself a cancellation or failure to renew - La. R.S. 22:1265(D)(1). |
| What doesn't count as a "claim" | Two things do not count toward the "two or more claims" threshold - directly relevant to a homeowner deciding whether to report roof damage - La. R.S. 22:1265(D)(2): an incident is a "claim" only where there is an actual demand for payment under the policy - reporting a loss, or asking a coverage question, does not by itself create a claim - and the count excludes any loss from an "Act of God" incident, meaning one due directly to forces of nature and exclusively without human intervention. In practice, this means simply reporting damage or asking a coverage question is not automatically held against a homeowner at renewal - only an actual demand for payment counts toward the threshold, and even then, whether a specific storm loss qualifies as "Act of God" (and so doesn't count at all) depends on the facts of that loss - not something that can be assumed in advance. |
| Insurer's 5% nonrenewal plan exception | Even on a policy that otherwise qualifies for the three-year protection, an insurer may file a plan with the commissioner and nonrenew up to 5% of its homeowners policies per calendar year for any reason, and the commissioner may approve a higher percentage on the insurer's request - La. R.S. 22:1265(L)(1) and (2). |
| Written reason on request | On written request from the named insured, the insurer must state its reasons for cancellation or nonrenewal in writing. The request must be mailed or delivered within six months after the effective date of the cancellation or expiration - La. R.S. 22:1265(A)(1). |
| One deductible per incident | No homeowner's policy may apply more than one deductible to a loss from a single covered incident. Any policy provision attempting this is null, void, and unenforceable as against public policy - La. R.S. 22:1265(G). This interacts with the separate named-storm/hurricane deductible discussed in the wind and hail deductible section above. |
| Market withdrawal bar | An insurer that withdraws from the Louisiana homeowners market under Subsection D may not write homeowners coverage in the state for five years, unless the commissioner permits earlier re-entry for good cause shown - La. R.S. 22:1265(I) and (J). |
Source: La. R.S. 22:1265, read in full at legis.la.gov.
Adjuster communications
This is a concrete right most Louisiana homeowners do not know they have.
When this right kicks in
Applies to a personal residential claim arising from a named storm or hurricane for which a state of emergency or disaster was declared under La. R.S. 29:724, where the insurer assigns a third or subsequent claims adjuster as primarily responsible for the claim within a six-month period - La. R.S. 22:1897(A).
| Written status report | Once triggered, the insurer must timely provide a written status report covering: how the deductible was applied and whether it's exhausted; the dollar amounts available under each coverage; the amounts paid under each coverage; the dates payments were issued, to whom checks were payable, and where or how funds were delivered; and a summary of items still to be adjusted and what further information or documentation the insured must supply - La. R.S. 22:1897(A)(1)(a) through (e). |
| Primary contact | The insurer must also provide a primary contact - La. R.S. 22:1897(A)(2) - and two or more direct means of communication with that contact - La. R.S. 22:1897(A)(3). The primary contact must be an adjuster or team knowledgeable about the claim, maintained until the claim closes or a suit is filed on it - La. R.S. 22:1897(B). |
| Supervisor referral | On the insured's request, the primary contact must refer them to a supervisor - La. R.S. 22:1897(C). |
Source: La. R.S. 22:1897, read in full at legis.la.gov.
Anti-concurrent causation clause
ACC clauses exclude coverage when an excluded peril (e.g. flooding) contributes to a loss alongside a covered peril (e.g. wind). Some states restrict ACC clauses or require carriers to apportion covered vs excluded damage.
Not yet verified.
Where to get help
If you believe your claim was handled improperly, file a complaint with the state consumer regulator. Complaints are free, create a paper trail, and sometimes prompt carriers to reconsider a decision.
| Regulator | Louisiana Department of Insurance |
| Website | https://www.ldi.la.gov |
| File a complaint | https://www.ldi.la.gov/onlineservices/ConsumerComplaintForm |