The regular Louisiana legislative session that ended June 8 “worked out in a very positive way” for insurance policyholders now bracing for the start of another hurricane season, the state’s insurance commissioner said last week.
Jim Donelon and the chairmen of the insurance committees in the state House and Senate, Rep. Mike Huval (R-Breaux Bridge) and Sen. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge), also expressed disappointment that a bill to better define bad-faith insurance claims and set claims-litigation timelines, House Bill 601, did not pass. The three officials held a press conference in Baton Rouge about legislative efforts to address the state’s property insurance crisis.
One effort that aims to stabilize the insurance market is an ongoing incentive program approved by state lawmakers. The program will eventually provide more than $50 million in matching funds to insurers that write new premiums for property owners in south Louisiana, Donelon said.
The program is designed to increase competition and reduce property insurance premium prices in Louisiana.
“I encourage anyone looking for a new policy to shop around at least once a month until you find coverage,” Donelon said, adding that the nonprofit property insurer of last resort, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., announced a 63% rate hike will take effect this year.
Huval said a $30 million budget allocation passed by the Legislature would provide up to $10,000 in grants to those homeowners who decide to upgrade their roofs to a fortified standard. The incentive program will result in structures better able to withstand serious storms and put downward pressure on insurance costs in the long term, he said.
“We know that to maintain our quality of life in south Louisiana, we must build higher and stronger,” Huval said.
Talbert expressed hope that the passage of another bill, SB 96, would benefit policyholders by shielding Louisiana Citizens from certain bad-faith claims and class-action lawsuits. The measure will help to keep Louisiana Citizens solvent and shrink the number of policies it has to write, he said.
Another bill, HB 183, will prevent attorneys from pursuing assignment-of-benefits lawsuits in insurance litigation and send a signal that Louisiana is driving “bad actors” out of Louisiana, according to Donelon.
But even so, the state still has challenges ahead in dealing with property insurance issues.
“We are the bull’s-eye of the target for hurricanes,” he said, noting that Louisiana is hit more often by such storms than either Florida or Texas on a per-capita basis. The state is also the second most attractive state for homeowner claims litigation, Donelon added.