Lana Venable of the Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch commented on an article in The Advocate which points to trial lawyers and insurers as driving forces in high auto insurance rates - because the two feed one another.
Insurance is a mandatory service, meaning that every driver, regardless of their likelihood of being involved in an accident, must be insured. Trial lawyers, meanwhile, play into the equation by encouraging those involved in accidents to seek out damages, whether they were personally injured or not.
Louisiana is known for its legislative inaction, but one area that has greatly frustrated reform groups is the failure to reform a law that would tamp down litigation.
“Rep. [Kirk] Talbot’s H.B. 372, dubbed the Omnibus Premium Reduction Act, stirred up a great deal of discussion during the recent session. Unfortunately, that discussion ended with inaction, likely ensuring Louisiana’s auto insurance rates will remain the second highest in the country,” Venable told Louisiana Record.
As far as Venable is concerned, there is no argument when it comes to the fact that Louisiana drivers are some of the most litigious in the nation, or that this trend is harming the state as a whole.
“Louisiana drivers are more than twice as likely as the national average to file bodily injury claims when involved in an accident. When they do file claims, our $50,000 jury trial threshold – by far the highest in the nation – incentivizes trial lawyers to file below this amount and go ‘judge shopping’ to secure favorable venues for their clients,” Venable said. “This is a manipulation of our judicial system and increases insurance costs for all of us.”