With the latest round of “take-outs,” Louisiana's last-resortinsurer has reduced its policy count 43 percent since it reached anall-time high early in 2008.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says four insurers have beenapproved to take another 6,877 residential policies off the booksof Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

Donelon says the last-resort insurer drops to eighth in marketshare among the state's homeowners' insurers, with 3.8 percent.

Citizens' policy count falls to below 100,000 residentialpolicies after the latest batch of policies are removed. The counthas plummeted 43 percent from Citizens' all-time high of 174,000 inFebruary 2008.

The first round of take-outs under the depopulation program wasin June 2008.

Due to the program, “homeowners now have a broader range ofoptions for insurance, and many policyholders have previouslylowered their premiums by hundreds or even thousands of dollarsafter having their policy removed out of Citizens to a privateinsurance company,” Donelon says in a statement.

Making more news of this latest round of take-outs is the fact anew insurer—Maison Insurance Co.—has emerged to remove somepolicies.

“The increased competition we are currently experiencing alongthe coastal parishes is a win-win scenario for all Louisianaproperty insurance policyholders,” Donelon adds.

The other companies taking part in the latest round of thedepopulation program are Access Home Insurance Co., CentuariSpecialty Insurance Co., and Lighthouse Property InsuranceCorp.

Donelon says the group asked to remove about 29,240. He approvedthe removal of 6.877, starting on Dec. 1.

Citizens policyholders have 60 days to decide whether they'dlike to stay with the state-run insurer, but Donelon says less than2 percent have chosen to do so in earlier take-out rounds.