BATON ROUGE - After more than 80,000 Louisiana homeowners scrambled to find insurance to replace policies abruptly canceled by three companies, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said policyholders have additional time to complete a policy with the state's insurer of last resort.

Homeowners who get insured by Louisiana Citizens, that last-resort insurer, within 60 days after their policy cancellation will be covered by Citizens for any claims for damage occurring during the gap between policies.

The extension will not apply to people who sign with other insurance companies after their policies are canceled. 

Two companies — Lighthouse and Southern Fidelity — are declaring insolvency and are unable to pay their debts, Donelon said last week. The third company, Maison, is pulling out of Louisiana and canceling its policies in the state.

Lighthouse and Maison have a combined 42,000 policyholders in Louisiana. Southern Fidelity has another 42,000 policyholders.

Lighthouse and Maison customers have until August 28 and Southern Fidelity policyholders have through September 13.