Ledet Insurance

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While working as a teller at Terrebonne Bank during the turn of the century, Charles A. Ledet realized the growing insurance needs of the residents of Terrebonne Parish and established Ledet Insurance in 1910. Now, 87 years and two generations later, the agency, located at 209 Goode St. next to the courthouse, continues to insure the future of local citizens. Leo Ledet Sr., now 83 and self-described semi-retired, recalled his father's business foresight. "He realized the growth that Houma was experiencing and knew that people needed to borrow money to begin businesses and develop commercial industries," Leo Ledet Sr. said. The elder Ledet continued to work at the bank and began to advise bank President Ernest Ellender. He was eventually elected bank president in 1929 when Ellender passes away. Unfortunately, his career as a bank president was a short one, as he died two years later. Leo Ledet Sr., who attended Notre Dame, Loyola and Louisiana State universities, took over the agency from his father in 1936 after deciding to quit college just one semester before graduation. Having been aroung the agency for most of its existence, he remembered the different locations. "The original agency began at 307 East Main Street and then moved to the Thatcher building, which is currently the Terrebonne Parish governmnet building," Leo Ledet Sr. said. "We then moved to the present location." The present building was build by the Ledet family in 1961 after demolishing the previous office. He recalled the changes and the differences in the insurance business since his entrance 61 years ago. "It was a very small affair in this part of the country because of our constant difficulty with hurricanes," Leo Ledet Sr. said. His son, Leo Ledet Jr., who affiliated with the office in 1976, said the major changes in the Terrebonne Parish area for property owners came with the establishment of the Coastal and Fair plans by the state and federal government. "These plans allowed for people in the coastal areas to buy insurance," Ledet Jr. said. "The Fair Plan was for anybody within the city limits and the Coastal Plan was designed for those living south of the Intracoastal. This allowed for anybody to buy property insurance for their homes, businesses and their stock and inventory." "The area became more litigious because of the oil industry," he said. "A lot of accidents happened, and that drew a lot of attorneys to practice in the area and to look at those accidents to see which ones needed to be acted upon." Leo Ledet Jr. added that areas south of I-10 became known as a high-risk because of the influx of people moving in and the increase in accidents that occurred. Another reason was property liability because of coastal exposure. Leo Ledet Sr. added that those industrial accidents proved to be riskier and more costly because many happened in federal waters. "The federal government is much more lenient in the settlement of claims than the state of Louisiana," Ledet Sr. said. "And more and more development began outside of the state, past the three-mile limit in the Gulf of Mexico." Leo Ledet Sr.

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