| By DREW BROACH | Deputy metro editor |
THE COST OF COVERAGE: Louisiana’s homeowner insurers raised premiums by an average of 6.7% in 2021 - three times the previous year’s increase - and while data for 2022 isn’t available yet, many homeowners and brokers are reporting more steep increases. The market is bad enough that Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has termed the current situation a “crisis.” SCHOOL? ALREADY? Students started trickling back into classrooms across the New Orleans area this week in what perhaps is the most normal start to a school year since the coronavirus pandemic began. Only a handful of schools are starting the year with a mask mandate. RENTAL ROW: Two titans of the New Orleans hospitality industry, hotel owner Joe Jaeger and short-term rental operator Sonder Holdings Inc., are battling in federal court over a failed business deal that would have vastly expanded Sonder's footprint in the city. Sonder says Jaeger agreed to hand over his properties in the French Quarter and Lower Garden District for five years, letting it rent 774 rooms in 12 hotels and net the company $30 million in profits. But Jaeger tried to terminate all the leases, and then sold two of the hotels without telling Sonder, the company alleges. (Want more business news? Subscribe to our free newsletter.) Thanks for starting your Wednesday with us. You can keep up with the latest news all day at NOLA.com. D.B. | 