Latest news with #TimTemple
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signs bills to lower auto insurance rates
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a sweeping package of auto insurance reform bills Wednesday, promising to lower the cost of coverage in Louisiana by cracking down on what he calls 'frivolous lawsuits' and strengthening oversight of the insurance industry. Landry called the new auto insurance laws 'the largest tort reform package, and effort made in the history of the state.' He said the goal was to take a measured approach by holding both insurers and litigants accountable for rising costs. The signing came a week after Landry flexed his political muscle and forced one of the key bills through the Senate in a late-night vote. The bill, House Bill 148, gives Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple more authority to reject 'excessive' rate increases — power that Temple says he does not need. Temple has downplayed the idea that Louisiana's high premiums stem from weak regulatory power, instead pointing to legal abuse and a high number of minor injury claims. 'It's a false claim that rates are high because the commissioner doesn't have some magical power,' Temple said. 'The problem in Louisiana is bodily injury claims and the legal system that encourages them.' An amendment added by the governor's supporters also requires insurance companies to make their rate filings public, a move some in the industry say could expose trade secrets. Landry defended the change by pointing out that insurance commissioners in other Southern states, including Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and others, have the power to reject excessive rate hikes. Budget passes: Louisiana House committee passes budget that closes $200 million shortfall without raising taxes Sports gambling: Louisiana House lowers proposed tax increase on online sports betting TOPS reform:: TOPS tweaks trouble cofounder Taylor: 'Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water' He said HB148 brings Louisiana in line with our neighboring states and gives the Insurance Department more tools to protect consumers. Auto insurance has been one of the most important — and contentious — issues in this spring's legislative session. Political analysts say rising car insurance rates could pose a problem for Landry in a re-election campaign. Landry has repeatedly said he plans to hold Temple accountable if rates do not drop under the new law. In the past, legislators have blamed plaintiff's lawyers and focused almost entirely on tort reform, claiming that caps on big court judgments would bring down auto insurance rates. But premiums have continued to increase, and Landry contended that greater oversight of premium rates is also needed. Landry opened his news conference Wednesday by reflecting on last year's efforts to reform home and property insurance in Louisiana. He acknowledged criticism for not accepting the entire package of legislative proposals at that time and pointed to another Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, who did that in Florida. 'Today Floridians are struggling, and their legislature is trying to roll back some of those recommendations,' Landry said, using the example to explain why Louisiana is taking a more measured path. While Temple expressed skepticism about the need for HB148, he has supported the rest of the package, saying the legal reforms are necessary to stabilize the insurance market and bring rates down. Landry referenced a report commissioned by the Legislature that included tort reform recommendations insurers said would lower rates. 'Still hopeful that by the end of the session, we will sign even more of those industry-specific recommendations that insurance companies asked for, and more importantly predicted, would lower rates,' Landry said. Other bills in the package that the governor signed target who can file lawsuits, how much they can recover and what jurors can consider in injury cases: House Bill 434 raises the minimum threshold of medical costs that uninsured drivers must meet to claim medical expenses in court, from $15,000 to $100,000. House Bill 450 requires plaintiffs to prove their injuries were directly caused by the crash in question. House Bill 431 bars drivers found at least 51% responsible for a crash from collecting any damages. Currently, they can recover damages for the remaining 49%. Landry said business groups have long supported this change. House Bill 436, a controversial measure, prohibits undocumented immigrants injured in car accidents from collecting compensation for general damages. Senate Bill 231 allows jurors to consider the actual amounts paid for medical care, rather than the often-inflated billed amounts, in personal injury cases. House Bill 549 mandates a 5% insurance premium discount for commercial vehicles with dashboard cameras. 'Having undisputed video evidence will reduce litigation, improve truck driver safety, and lower costs for everyone,' Landry said. With bipartisan backing on several of the bills, Landry said the changes mark a major step toward improving Louisiana's insurance climate and restoring fairness in the system. 'Over the last 50 days, the only side I and the legislators who supported this package of bills have been on is the people,' Landry said. 'Our people are too good to be taken advantage of again and again.' This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signs auto insurance reform bills
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
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Homeowners blindsided after major insurers drop coverage in high-risk states: 'Everybody I know … is fed up paying these high premiums'
The cost of home insurance in Louisiana has spiraled out of control despite relief efforts by lawmakers. Rate hikes are forcing Louisiana residents out of homes in coastal areas and contributing to the shortage of affordable housing in metro areas. Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple called it the "biggest crisis our state faces," per Temple, a former insurance executive, has advocated to make it easier for insurance companies to drop policyholders and raise rates. He believes fewer regulations will attract more insurers to the state, fostering competition to drive down rates. According to polls, high home insurance costs are the No. 1 concern in the state, especially in South Louisiana, where a series of hurricanes wreaked havoc on the insurance market. Last year, several bills intended to make Louisiana friendlier to insurance companies were approved. Despite this, rates continued to rise. Policyholders have experienced a 9% rate increase since the laws were passed, per "The rates are just so high. It might be the highest thing in their escrow, more than their house note," state Rep. Jacob Braud said. Louisiana is reliant on the reinsurance industry, which has been severely impacted by escalating global catastrophes caused by rising temperatures. Human activities, mainly the continued use of dirty energy sources such as gas and coal, create planet-heating pollution, which has contributed to the uptick in these extreme weather events. Extreme weather events have always existed, but rising global temperatures have supercharged them. Not only do these events endanger communities, but they also exact a huge monetary toll. Extreme weather events, including hurricanes and wildfires, result in billions of dollars in damages and have upended insurance markets worldwide. In response, insurers have raised rates and dropped policies, leaving homeowners unable to find insurance. The problem is not unique to Louisiana. One study found that millions of property owners in vulnerable states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, and California will have higher insurance premiums because of an increased risk of floods, wildfires, and high winds. Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Insurance companies use predictive "catastrophe models" to simulate disasters and estimate their costs. In high-risk areas, this has led some insurers to halt coverage altogether. This left many Californians uninsured and unprotected during January's devastating wildfires. Louisiana lawmakers are pushing for additional relief for homeowners. "Everybody I know who has a house is fed up paying these high premiums," state Sen. Patrick Connick told Connick proposed a bill that would require insurers to report more information about their finances, including transactions with affiliates. State lawmakers have put forward dozens of bills in an attempt to ease the financial burden on homeowners. According to one would provide tax credits for a portion of a homeowner's insurance premiums. Another bill would allow homeowners to reduce coverage to only the unpaid principal balance of their mortgage, rather than maintaining coverage for the full value of their home. While this would result in lower premiums, it would also leave people with less protection. Louisiana hopes providing premium discounts will incentivize homeowners to take preventative measures, such as installing fortified roofs less likely to be blown apart during hurricanes. Lawmakers are also trying to increase oversight. Others have pushed for a federal solution, similar to the National Flood Insurance Program. Some states have taken measures to protect residents after extreme weather events. California passed a law to prevent insurance companies from canceling coverage of wildfire victims. A couple of the proactive things people can do is explore critical climate issues and help reduce reliance on dirty energy sources that exacerbate planet-warming pollution. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Proposed insurance bill advances in committee despite pushback
BATON ROUGE, La. (LSU Manship School News Service) — A sweeping insurance bill advanced through the Senate Insurance Committee on Wednesday, though tensions flared over a controversial part that would expand the authority of Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. While most lawmakers and insurance representatives praised the bill's consumer protections and transparency measures, such as requiring insurers to disclose previous premiums in sending out renewal notices, some warned that granting Temple more power to reject rate hikes could backfire. But supporters of the bill, House Bill 148, argued that bolder changes are necessary to rein in Louisiana's sky-high insurance premiums and restore public trust in the system. As political leaders try to slow the increases in auto insurance premiums, Gov. Jeff Landry has called on the Legislature to give Temple the power to reject premiums before they go into effect. Temple said he does not need this power and has cautioned against taking steps that might prompt insurers to leave the state. Louisiana lawmakers push for reform amid auto insurance crisis The increase in auto insurance rates is one of the biggest issues this legislative session, and analysts say Landry could be hurt politically if the problem does not ease. The bill originated in the House, and most of the debate at the Senate hearing on Wednesday was over amendments added by House members. The amendments would eliminate the longstanding legal distinction between competitive and non-competitive markets, giving the commissioner broad authority to block rates deemed 'excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory.' Temple, who supports much of the original bill, said the amendment granting him more power to block rate hikes misses the mark. 'Premiums are high because losses are high,' said Temple, who was elected on his own and is not appointed by the governor. 'If we think that we need to take a look at how we regulate insurance rates, then let's take a serious dive into it,' Temple said. 'Let's not just pick, you know, portions of one state or another, or something we saw on social media. I mean, let's truly dive into this.' Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, pushed back, suggesting Louisiana's insurance crisis demands strong action. 'It's been repeatedly acknowledged that we're in a monumental crisis,' Duplessis said to Temple. 'But you don't believe that we need to do anything outside of legal reform to address this monumental crisis.' Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, echoed frustrations shared by many Louisiana residents, pointing to her own experience with rising premiums and demanding accountability from regulators. 'I just got my renewal not long ago from my home, and it was almost doubled,' she said. 'My car insurance went up a little. It wasn't as bad, but it did go up. Everything has gone up. But I want to ask you, over the past year and a half or so, what can you point to that has had a direct correlation to having an impact on lowering the rate, because I don't see it.' Independent insurance agents lined up to support Temple. Danette Castello, representing the Professional Insurance Agents of Louisiana group and a local agency in Zachary, said the amendment would discourage insurers from entering the market. 'Giving the authority to one person to subjectively decide whether or not a rate is justified is a nightmare waiting to happen,' Castello said. Rep. Chad Brown, D-Plaquemine, who authored the amendment, defended it at the Senate committee hearing by pointing out that many Southern states already have similar standards. 'This law, in one way or another, exists in the majority of Southern states that surround us,' Brown said. 'Is it driving them from those states?' Despite the discussion, committee members agreed to move the bill forward, with Chairman Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, noting there are five weeks left in the session to continue refining the legislation. 'I love the original part of the bill,' Talbot said. 'The amended part gives me heartburn, but we'll work together on it.' His comments suggested there may be further debate on the Senate floor. The proposal comes amid a broader, contentious push in the Legislature to address high car insurance rates. Trial lawyers and business groups have clashed over whether lawsuits or a lack of regulatory enforcement are to blame, with both sides claiming partial victories in recent committee votes. Temple has supported many pro-industry bills, but he has also publicly opposed separate legislation that would let him block rate hikes without actuarial data. Gov. Landry supports this move and has threatened to hold Temple responsible if rates do not fall. Americans purchasing more older homes than ever before Teen arrested after Baton Rouge shooting leaves 1 hurt Proposed insurance bill advances in committee despite pushback Louisiana bill that would mandate anti-hazing course for college organizations advances Why flags are flying at half-staff Thursday Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
22-04-2025
- Axios
Louisiana among deadliest states for highway fatalities, data shows
Louisiana has one of the country's highest annual rates of highway fatalities, according to federal data. Why it matters: April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, where advocacy groups hope to bring attention to a leading cause of crashes — cellphone use. The big picture: Louisiana averaged about 20 highway fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2022, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the St. Louis Federal Reserve. That's much higher than the national average of 13. Other Southern states — Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee — also ranked among the deadliest. By the numbers: In 2023, 811 people were killed in crashes, and 22% of those crashes involved inattention or a distraction, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission says. New Orleans keeps a dashboard of local crash data. Zoom in: Louisiana has laws banning texting for all drivers and requiring hands-free cellphone usage in school zones, the commission says. Another law bans cellphone usage (unless hands-free) for drivers holding a learner's or intermediate license. Gov. Jeff Landry and insurance commissioner Tim Temple are backing another bill this legislative session that would increase cellphone restrictions while driving, WRKF reports. Zoom out: Around 3,300 people died nationwide in crashes attributed to distracted driving in 2022, while another 289,000 were injured, according to the latest available National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. More than 62,000 crashes involved distracted cellphone usage in 2022 alone, the NHTSA says. These stats likely underestimate the problem because crash data often relies on drivers self-reporting their distractions to law enforcement, National Safety Council executive VP of safety leadership and advocacy Mark Chung tells Axios. The big picture: U.S. traffic deaths per 100,000 people peaked in the 1930s and total deaths peaked in 1972, then gradually declined thanks to vehicle improvements, better infrastructure and public safety campaigns. But the rate of crash deaths started rising again about a decade ago, spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2022 was still in the late pandemic era, and it's unclear whether things have changed since then. Flashback:"How much longer will a civilized nation endure such mass mayhem?" the NSC asked in 1955 after 602 Americans died on roadways over a single Christmas weekend. It took 13 more years for seatbelts to be required in all new vehicles — and the NSC now wants similar action to curb distracted driving. Nearly all U.S. states ban texting while driving, per the Governors Highway Safety Association, though their enforcement rules differ.
