In 2016, when Shawn Loht bought his house near New Orleans, he easily found homeowner insurance with a $2,000-a-year premium. Then his provider failed, leaving him facing a premium of nearly $13,000 a year from the state’s insurer of last resort. Mr. Loht’s experience has become increasingly common as insurance companies react to cascading natural disasters by raising rates, reducing coverage and exiting some markets entirely. And Allstate, the state’s fourth largest insurer, quietly stopped selling new home, condominium and commercial insurance policies last year, confirming the change to The San Francisco Chronicle last week. “These disasters are wiping out large swaths of homes and insurance companies are responding in kind by getting out of there.”

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Persons: Shawn Loht, ”, Hurricane Ida, Loht, Pat Howard Organizations: Allstate, San Francisco Chronicle Locations: New Orleans, Louisiana, California, Northern Colorado, Nebraska, Mississippi