The failure of a 10-mill added property tax proposition for Rural Fire Protection District 3 could affect homeowners insurance rates within the district.

Matthew Rabalais is the assistant fire chief at the department.

“What we do directly affects insurance rates,” says Rabalais.

He says the Property Association of Louisiana comes in every five years to inspect each district’s department.

“They look at how we operate. They look at what we do and set rates according to that,” Rabalais explains.

Rabalais says inspectors look at factors like number of personnel on duty, number of trucks, and equipment.

The extra 10-mill proposition that was rejected would have added about $1 million dollars to the district’s annual revenues.

“That money was going to be utilized to hire more people, to buy additional equipment for trucks,” says Rabalais.

The current fire rating at the district sits at five; with 1 being the best, and 10 the worst.

Rabalais says they could now drop the fire rating, but the insurance rates would go up.

“The current funding that we have, it will be really tough for us to even maintain what we have,” says Rabalais.

Rabalias says he expects a 7-10% increase in homeowners insurance rates annually but that isn’t based on a formula they have here but what they are hearing from the insurance commissioner’s office.

Iggie Castille is an insurance agent in Opelousas.

He says these changes won’t kick in today or tomorrow, but instead when it’s time to renew the policy.

“You buy a house in January, you ensure it in January. You buy a house in May, you ensure it in May. That’s the renewal date so when your renewal comes up…what’s your protection class now?” says Castille.

Castille says even though he works in insurance, he very well understands how much of burden situations like this can be.

“Everybody has got to put bread on their table…and insurance? Yuck,” says Castille.

Rabalais says they are trying to encourage more volunteering at the department so they can help combat the rising rates.