According to ValuePenguin’s State of Auto Insurance in 2022, Louisiana will see car insurance rate increase faster than the national average. Eric Holl with Real Reform Louisiana said despite a promise that tort reform measures passed in the first 2020 extra legislative session, it would decrease rates, so far, they haven’t.
“We tried this actually in the 1990’s we passed major tort reform. At that time, we actually had the seventh-highest car insurance rates in the country. So now we’ve passed tort reform twice and we have the highest car insurance rates in the country,” said Holl.
When asked about the ValuePenguin’s report Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said he’s not familiar with them.
“ValuePenguin, first I’m hearing of them don’t know the basis for their projection. I don’t know how fast rates are going to increase in our state, so I don’t know how they would know,” said Donelon.
ValuePenguin is a personal finance website that researches insurance and other financial topics.
When House Bill 57 was debated in the first extra 2020 session, Holl said there were claims passage would bring about a major reduction in auto insurance rates within a year.
“It’s very clear now that once the legislature did with these insurance lobbyists, and corporate lobbyists and the insurance commissioner wanted them to do they, were hoping that nobody would follow up and that when our rates kept going up that nobody would notice,” said Holl.
Donelon countered that the bill contained no mandates for a reduction of auto insurance premium costs.
“And no one represented that it would do anything other than give us a chance to make our tort system like the others in the other 49 states,” said Donelon.
Donelon said the tort reforms measures passed were an effort to address the highest in America claims to litigation ratio that the state suffers from. Holl said policyholders now actually have fewer rights as a result of tort reform if they’re in a battle with their auto insurance carrier.
To view ValuePenguin’s State of Auto Insurance in 2022 click here.
The read HB 57 click here.
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