14-05-2025
The undocumented can buy auto insurance in Louisiana, but their injury claims could soon be limited
Vehicles speed down Louisiana Highway 19 in East Baton Rouge Parish where average car insurance rates are among the highest in the nation. (Photo: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)
A proposal to prohibit auto accident victims who aren't lawful U.S. residents from recovering insurance money for injuries is nearing final passage in the Louisiana Legislature.
House Bill 436, sponsored by Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, cleared the Senate Committee on Judiciary A in a 4-3 vote along party lines Tuesday with Republicans prevailing. The measure heads to the floor for final passage.
'I can't wait to read the bad press,' committee chairman Sen. Greg Miller, R-Norco, said shortly after the committee adjourned.
Firment's bill would prohibit 'unauthorized aliens' — defined in the measure as individuals illegally in the United States under federal immigration law — from receiving insurance payouts for general damages in auto accidents. General damages include compensation for pain and suffering. The proposal would still allow recovery for 'special damages,' such as medical expenses and property damage.
Firment said the purpose of his bill is to help address the state's auto insurance crisis while discouraging undocumented immigration.
Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport, said Firment's bill would create a 'double standard' by allowing insurance companies to profit off migrants without legal status while not facing much risk. Insurers would still be able to sell coverage to noncitizens but would not have to cover their damages in certain situations, he said.
Louisiana auto insurance proposals include limits on 'unauthorized alien' lawsuits
Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, argued that same point.
'Insurance companies do sell insurance to illegal aliens,' Luneau said. '… As long as they have a passport, they will sell them insurance, including uninsured motorist [coverage]. So under your bill, they would not be able to collect for the bodily injury portion of that claim, so they're buying an insurance policy that they can't collect on.'
Firment said his bill would not stop insurers from voluntarily paying or settling a bodily injury claim for an undocumented immigrant.
He also mentioned a commercial trucking company owner who recently laid off five drivers due to the high cost of auto insurance in Louisiana.
'If there's anything I can do to help those folks, that's what I'm here for,' Firment said.
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