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Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Insurance Commissioner on abuse of the legal system and insurance reform battle in the House
Louisiana (KTAL/KMSS) — The legislative fiscal session has been on legal reform, according to Commissioner of Insurance of Louisiana, Tim Temple. The commissioner says the legislature is trying to address why premiums are so high in the state of Louisiana. Louisiana lawmakers push for reform amid auto insurance 'crisis' 'When we do get into an accident, we have more than twice the frequency of bodily injury claims. More than twice the national average, we claim we had an injury. And we're more than- I see four times, I see three times, I know it's a solid more than two and a half times the national average, to litigate on those bodily injury claims,' said Temple. The commissioner says this equates to higher claims costs. For this reason, there are bills working through the system with the hope of disincentivizing people from abusing the legal system. 'If we can be successful doing that, then you'll start to see the claims, the number of claims that we have, abusing the system, go down. And when those go down, rates will follow. Most of the bills are designed to tackle that, to disincentivize, ' said Temple. He believes there are bills coming out of the House under concurrence, which means the House agrees with amendments by the Senate. Louisiana lawmakers spar over attorney penalties in proposed insurance bill Some of the bills include House Bill 431 by Representative Emily Chenevert, which provides relative to modified comparative fault, and House Bill 436 by Representative Gabe Firment, which prohibits the recovery of certain damages for unauthorized aliens. However, Commissioner Temple says there is one bill that gives 'heart burn' and he does not support, House Bill 148 by Representative Jeffrey Wiley. According to text on the State Legislature website, the bill 'requires insurers to provide prior premium amounts with renewals of certain insurance policies and repeals the distinction between competitive and non-competitive markets with respect to the regulation of insurance rates.' 'It's not right. It's not a good bill. It shifts blame. It also removes confidentiality that insurance companies enjoy when they do business here, like every other business gets to have some confidentiality; it removes some of those protections,' said Temple. Landry testifies on insurance bill as Louisiana rates remain highest in US The commissioner continued, 'I think that it's going to send a message to the insurance market that Louisiana is not a state that you want to do business with, despite a lot of the reform that we're passing.' The commissioner says that during the session, a group of legislators has opposed passing reform because they say insurance companies are making billions of dollars. 'Whether you look at five years or 10 years, insurance companies whether it's auto, or it's property, have historically lost money in the state of Louisiana,' said Temple. The commissioner says that in 2023 and 2024, there were not many catastrophes, premiums were high, and companies made about 3%. However, the years 2020 and 2021 had large loss ratios due to storms and hurricanes. Why is Louisiana car insurance so pricey? Gov. Landry, Attorney Morris Bart sound off Commissioner Temple says several other reform bills will be introduced to Senate Judiciary A on May 28th, unfortunately a member of the committee will be absent. Temple says those bills will most likely die outright or die in a tie vote. 'I would say that after today, I think that a lot of the legal reform efforts are going to be done with. Which is not good for you and me as citizens and rate payers of Louisiana.' Temple says that on May 28th, Governor Landry will hold a press conference and perhaps a bill signing on legislation coming out of the House. 'We did not get into this insurance crisis overnight, and we're not getting out of it overnight, but we are going to get out of it if we continue to do what needs to be done which is make some hard decisions, rebalance the playing field, the legal field here in the state of Louisiana, and make it so that people don't abuse the process. That's when you have a claim, it's a just claim, when you have an injury, it's a just injury, and when you have medical bills, they are just medical bills. Insurance is about being made whole, not being made better,' said Commissioner Temple. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana lawmakers dissect personal injury laws as attorney-legislators protest
Getty Images House lawmakers advanced six bills targeting personal injury lawsuits Tuesday in the opening salvo of the Louisiana Legislature's ongoing debate over high insurance rates. 'I guess we can say this is opening day, and here's your first pitch,' Rep. Jay Gallé, R-Mandeville, said to the House Civil Law Committee while presenting one of six so-called tort reform bills the committee considered Tuesday. Out of the six bills, one of the most hotly contested would limit the ability for people to recover damages for injuries sustained in accidents for which they are mostly at fault. House Bill 431 sponsored by Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, cleared the committee in an 11-4 vote along party lines. Her bill would change Louisiana's comparative fault statute, which assigns a percentage of blame to each party in an accident and allows for the recovery of damages in proportion with those percentages. The statute often arises in cases that involve multiple negligent acts by multiple people, some more to blame than others. In theory, someone partly at fault for an accident can potentially recover some of the awarded damages. Chenevert's bill would change that to prohibit any amount of recovery by a party who's 51% or more at fault. 'You should not be able to collect if the accident is mostly your fault,' Chenevert said. 'I would say that's common sense. Should we reward negligence?' But Rep. Chad Brown, D-Plaquemine, pointed out that the bill only modifies comparative fault on the plaintiff's side and not the defendant's. As a result, a defendant would still be protected by the liability proportions. 'There's a double standard here that the plaintiff is going to get zeroes if he's 51% at fault, and the defendant is only gonna pay 51% if he's 51% at fault,' said Brown, who is an attorney. '… The plaintiff is more imperiled than the defendant.' Chenevert said 34 other states have a version of the law. The committee similarly advanced House Bill 34, sponsored by Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, in a 11-3 vote. His measure would change state law to allow any party to introduce evidence related to medical expenses. Currently, the law prevents juries from seeing what accident victims actually pay for medical treatment and only allows them to see what a doctor billed. In many instances, however, medical providers don't actually receive the full amounts that they bill. At other times, Glorioso said, some lawyers work with doctors who inflate their medical billings just to get an increased payout. Glorioso's bill would limit a claimant's recovery of medical expenses to 'reasonable' amounts, which would be left for a judge or jury to decide. 'Let's let the jury see all of the evidence,' he said. 'Let's not blindfold them and just let them see one side.' Brown countered, saying defendants get to hide details from jurors, such as whether insurance coverage is available for injuries a victim claims. He said he supports leveling the playing field between plaintiffs and insurance companies. The committee saw Republicans prevail in another vote on House Bill 443, sponsored by Rep. Chance Henry, R-Crowley. His bill would require plaintiffs to notify defendants of an intent to file a lawsuit within 10 days of retaining a lawyer. Currently, plaintiffs' lawyers can gather evidence and prepare for a lawsuit for almost two full years before a defendant is even aware a suit is coming. Henry said his bill would give a defendant the same amount of time to prepare for a claim as a plaintiff.. Democrats on the committee said if plaintiffs will be required to provide such a notice, then defendants should at least be required to respond to that notice with similar information – such as contact information for the insurance company's lawyer and claims adjuster. Rep. Ed Larvadain, D-Alexandria, said many of the insurance companies he deals with in his law practice won't return calls or even provide email addresses for anyone at the company. Rep. Nick Muscarello, R-Hammond, questioned how the requirement would even be enforced and encouraged Henry to work with the concerned lawmakers on potential amendments before the bill is debated on the House floor. Henry said he would. House Bill 434, sponsored by Rep. Jason DeWitt, R-Alexandria, advanced to the floor in an 11-2 vote but saw no debate. The proposal would limit bodily injury claims by plaintiffs who did not carry auto insurance at the time of the accident. It also would forbid uninsured plaintiffs' recovery on the first $100,000 worth of damages. Other bills the committee advanced include House Bill 450, sponsored by Rep. Michael Melerine, R-Shreveport, and House Bill 291, sponsored by Gallé. Melerine's bill would end the Housley presumption, a standard of evidence explained in a 1991 Louisiana Supreme Court ruling that applies to auto accidents, medical malpractice and other injury lawsuits. In a nutshell, the Housley presumption says courts should assume a plaintiff's injuries resulted from the accident in question if they were in good health beforehand. Lawmakers have tried repeatedly to revoke Housley, but those attempts either failed or were vetoed in previous years. This year is expected to be different as Gov. Jeff Landry recently signaled support for the measure. Gallé's bill would extend the filing deadline, called a 'prescriptive period,' for wrongful death lawsuits from one year to two, aligning Louisiana with the deadline found in most other states. Proponents of the bill have argued that a shorter prescriptive period attracts more frivolous lawsuits by essentially forcing people to quickly file claims so as to not lose their litigation rights. The proposal also complements a similar measure lawmakers approved last year to extend the deadline for filing personal injury claims. The committee quickly advanced both bills without objection. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Moore, legislative leaders sign 92 bills into law hours after end of 2025 session
Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed 92 bills into law Tuesday with Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County), just hours after the midnight Monday end of the 2025 General Assembly. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Hours after the close of the 2025 session, Gov. Wes Moore (D) and legislative leaders signed dozens of bills — many focused on work force and employment issues — into law. The tranche of 92 bills — including two of the governor's priorities — came in the first of five such ceremonies scheduled between now and the end of May. Many of the bills signed Tuesday centered around a top area of focus for the governor this year. 'Maryland is mobilizing in support of our workers and in support of our middle-class families,' Moore said in brief opening remarks. He highlighted Senate Bill 431, which he said incentivizes companies to create apprenticeships. 'This legislation will strengthen the apprenticeship pipeline in the state of Maryland,' Moore said. 'Because while we are proud of the fact that Maryland is some of the best four-year institutions of higher education in the entire country, we will end this myth that every single one of our students need to attend one in order to be economically successful.' Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) praised the bill and the creation of the Office of Registered Apprenticeship Development as 'a critical component of the Department of Labor.' The office will be created within the state Department of Labor's apprenticeship and training program. House Bill 502, another Moore priority, creates the Office of Disability Employment Advancement and Policy. 'This bill extends a hand to a community that has been left behind for far too long when it comes to employment — Marylanders with disabilities,' Moore said. The bill was one of those celebrated as a win by advocates for services for the developmentally disabled. 'This year's successes mark a turning point for disability services and rights in Maryland,' said Ande Kolp, executive director of The Arc Maryland. 'The DD Coalition remains committed to building a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future where all people with developmental disabilities can live with dignity, independence and full community participation.' Half of all Marylanders with disabilities face financial hardships. Marylanders with disabilities make up just 5% of the workforce, according to Moore. The bill also establishes a 'model employer initiative' in which the office will focus on facilitating the hiring of candidates who have disabilities. 'If we want to unleash Maryland's potential, we need pathways to work, wages and wealth for all members, and not just some,' Moore said. Moore also signed identical House and Senate bills that will create a fast track for some health care professionals to be licensed in Maryland. 'We are talking about highly qualified, highly skilled workers who have built careers saving lives,' Moore said. 'People who have committed their lives to serving the lives of others, and now they are being told by someone who was never willing to take the same oath that they took, that their service doesn't matter. Well, in Maryland, we believe their service does matter, and this legislation will help ensure essential workers can continue their work to be able to make our state better.' The new law, which takes effect July 1, applies to health care professionals who hold licenses that have an equivalent in Maryland and who left their federal jobs after Jan. 20 of this year. The next bill signing is set for April 22. Moore, in remarks before the bill signing, praised House and Senate leaders for working collaboratively. He repeated his top three goals for the session including reforming the tax code, making the state economy less dependent on the federal government and taking steps to 'invest in our people, invest in our work.' 'Meeting these goals required all of us to work together,' Moore said Tuesday morning. Ten hours earlier, in a statement released moments after the 90-day session ended, Moore expressed disappointment that some of his priorities failed to gain traction this year. Moore, in his statement, lamented the opportunities missed by the General Assembly on issues related to affordable housing, attracting businesses to the state, and adding nuclear to a clean energy plan that could result in lower rates. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
