Representatives of Louisiana’s logging industry last week expressed gratitude that Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a major tort-reform bill, saying it would help to bring down insurance rates paid by commercial transport companies.
“We’ve talked to underwriters and agents, and everybody sees this as the break we need,” Josh McAllister, president of the Louisiana Loggers Association, told the Louisiana Record. “And it’s going to create the atmosphere where we’ll be pulling more companies into the state.”
The Civil Justice Reform Act of 2020, which Edwards signed on July 16, reduces the monetary threshold that’s needed to trigger a civil jury trial from $50,000 to $10,000, and it repeals a prohibition against presenting evidence of a plaintiff’s failure to wear seat belts in auto injury lawsuits.
But the key provision that should help to bring down commercial insurance rates for loggers and other transport companies involves a change in what’s called the collateral source rule, which deals with a claimant’s recovery of medical expenses. The act changes the law by limiting the recovery of medical expenses to the amount actually paid to a medical provider by the insurer, as opposed to the amount billed.
The bill’s supporters say such provisions will improve the state’s legal climate and reduce inflated damages awards, leading to lower insurance premiums for consumers.
“I think that by this time next year, we’ll see a pretty big rate reduction due to competition and due to the progress we’re making moving forward,” McAllister said.
Lawmakers, including Rep. Jack McFarland (R-Winnfield), point out that transport companies have been burdened by skyrocketing insurance rates in recent years. McFarland pushed to get the collateral-source language in the bill in the final days of a special legislative session last month.
McAllister said his association and other business groups would continue to fight for legal reforms.
“In next year’s session, we’ll try to tweak this thing to be more favorable to us,” he said.
McAllister’s wife, Toni, who serves as the association’s executive director, thanked lawmakers and the governor for their support for House Bill 57, which was authored by House Speaker Clay Schexnayder (R-Gonzales).
“Just him signing this bill encourages other insurance companies to come into this state, especially commercial writers,” she said, adding that additional competition would lead to lower premiums for struggling transport companies.