Gov. Landry is set to announce his plan for lowering insurance premiums Wednesday morning, and a new poll shows that this could be the single most important announcement of his governorship.
The poll by Bernie Pinsonat and Greg Rigamer shows a deep dissatisfaction with the state’s direction on insurance, and a majority of the 500 people polled say the legislature has been ineffective at reining in premiums.
Nearly everyone surveyed said that he or she is concerned about the rising insurance rates in Louisiana, and that 85.4% rate the current insurance market in Louisiana as either “poor” (24.2%) or “very poor” (61.2%).
“As far as the voters are concerned, this is a crisis,” Pinsonat says. “They cannot afford the continuous increase year after year, month after month.”
Landry’s speech at 10:00 a.m. comes as his favorability rating is mixed, with 45.6% saying they have an unfavorable opinion of him and 44.6% saying they have a favorable opinion of him.
Pinsonat says Landry’s favorability rating is largely tied to the insurance crisis.
“Until he does something about the amount of money Louisiana residents are paying out of the pocket for insurance, he’s not going to get a lot of credit,” says Pinsonat. “His job performance is absolutely related to the amount of money that they’re having to pay for insurance.”
As for who people believe to be the most responsible for high insurance premiums, insurance companies and trial lawyers tied for the top with 19.6% each, followed by natural disasters at 16.4%.
Pinsonat says at the same time, 36% hold the legislature accountable for addressing the crisis.
“Trial lawyers are a problem. Insurance regulators are a problem. Insurance companies are a problem. But those people are not responsible for the high cost of insurance,” says Pinsonat.
The high cost of insurance is having a profound effect on whether people believe the state is heading in the right direction.
The survey shows that 45.8% believe that the state is heading in the wrong direction, compared to 38.2% who say it’s heading in the right direction.
“Year after year, the amount of money they’re paying for insurance continues to rise,” Pinsonat notes. “So why would they be happy with the direction of the state?”
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