Homeowners Insurance Concerns

It has been noted by serveral insurance agents in the Greater Baton Rouge area that our homeowner insurance rates will go up in many instances to 40% more than we are currently paying. Part of this will be a tax to help pay for hurricane Katrina rebuilding and part of it will be rate increases for the individual insurance companies to recover some of the costs from this event. I have also been advised that wind damage may not be covered by our homeowners insurance and that coverage would have to come from the FAIR plan - which is pretty expensive. When questioned about what we can do about these rates, I was told the best thing is to raise your deductibe. I personally told my homeowner insurance agent several years ago to flag my file anytime a rate increase occurs. That way I can see how much I have to raise my deductible to keep my premiums reasonable. I suggest that everyone contact their insurance agents to check this out and to stay on top of this so you are not blind sided with a huge new premium.