PLANTATION, Fla. — This hurricane season is projected to be the most expensive ever for insurers. And when losses pile up for insurance companies, bad news for homeowners in storm-prone areas isn't far behind: premium increases.

Hard-hit places such as Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi are likely to see steep increases on top of previous ones after hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma pummeled the nation this year and four others struck last year, industry experts said. Policyholders could also get dropped as meteorologists say the Atlantic is in a long period of increased hurricanes.

"Insurers don't view 2004 and 2005 as an aberration. We view them as perhaps the way things are going to be over the course of many years," said Bob Hartwig, chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute. "That means insurers have to be prepared to survive the next 20, 25 years."

That prospect worries homeowners like Odalys Arbelaez, a 43-year-old office administrator whose condominium in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Davie lost windows and had water seep through walls during Wilma. She already pays $1,800 annually and can't afford a hike.

"I'd have to go into my emergency money. I'm a single mom trying to take care of my kid," said Arbelaez, who has coverage through the deficit-plagued state-run insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. It provides coverage to property owners who can't get private insurance, and must charge the highest rates.

Risk-assessment firms have estimated that Katrina could result in $40 billion to $60 billion in U.S. catastrophe losses, making it the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Preliminary reports from insurance companies already have claims totaling $34.4 billion.

Swiss Reinsurance Co., the world's second-largest reinsurer, said Wednesday the global insurance industry could face more than $20 billion in claims just from Rita and Wilma. Re-insurers sell backup insurance to other insurance companies, spreading risk so that enormous losses from natural catastrophes can be covered.

Last year's losses prompted insurers to file for large rate increases to recoup their payouts. Gulf Coast states were already among the most expensive for homeowners insurance. Texas tops the list, followed by Louisiana, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Florida is fourth and Mississippi, sixth.

The whopping losses are also making some major insurers skittish. For example, Allstate Corp., the nation's second-largest personal insurer, said it will reduce its homeowners coverage in the Gulf Coast region to cut back exposure to catastrophic losses. The company's Florida operation made a similar move after last year's hurricanes.

Hartwig said rate increases are needed because return on equity for insurers will likely be 5 or 6 percentage points lower than the average for Fortune 500 companies.

"Insurance is an especially risky business and investors need to be compensated for that risk," he said.

But computer risk models created after 1992's Hurricane Andrew were supposed to take into account the risk of cyclical increases in hurricane activity, said Bob Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America and a former Texas insurance commissioner. He thinks higher rates are unjustified.

Some homeowners said they understand their skyrocketing insurance bills and accept them as inevitable.

"They've got to make up their money somehow," said Cathy Lowa, 53, of North Lauderdale, Fla.

The annual premium she pays Citizens for her house rose to $2,000 this year, up 66 percent from $1,200 last year. After Wilma did about $5,000 in damage, she expects to pay even more next year.

Lowa and Arbelaez both were visiting the mobile "insurance village" that Florida officials set up in Plantation, a Fort Lauderdale suburb. Insurers there take Wilma claims from people who lost power and cannot file by phone or the Internet. Many people at the village said they always got busy signals or were put on hold when they tried calling in their claims.

Another particular concern with hurricanes is that they usually do the worst damage in coastal areas, which have undergone a building boom for decades and are lined with susceptible high-rise condominiums.

Condo owners face a double whammy: Not only do they have to pay higher rates for their units, but their building associations also have insurance policies that cover common areas.

Higher insurance costs can be passed on to owners through association fees. When damage isn't covered by insurance, condo owners sometimes have to pay large special assessments.

"So with all the hurricane cleanup and everything else, I heard one of my neighbors say he wouldn't be surprised if we had an assessment for a couple of thousand dollars," Arbelaez said.

The possibility of multimillion-dollar condo towers concentrated on the coast being devastated by a hurricane has led major insurers such as Allstate and State Farm Insurance companies to cut back coverage.

"A condo association policy is a huge exposure," State Farm Florida spokesman Chris Neal said.