Tim Temple talks auto insurance reform at a news conference Thursday at Bengal Transportation Services in Ascension Parish. Photo credit: Andrew Greenstein
When it comes to the high price of auto insurance, Governor Landry and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple are pointing their fingers – not at the insurance companies or trial lawyers, but at one another.
When he announced the 20 insurance reform bills he’s supporting, Temple noted that he has not had a conversation with Landry about the issue in a long time.
“I have not had a conversation with the governor about insurance reform since May 7th of 2024, when we all met together in the press conference room to do the bill signing for property reform,” Temple said at a news conference in Ascension Parish. “I know there’s been other meetings that have taken place that I’ve not been part of. It’s not because I’ve said no, it’s because I wasn’t invited to be part of those.”
Earlier this week, in announcing his own insurance reform plan, Landry said he wanted to rein in the ability of trial lawyers to advertise.
Temple says, good luck with that.
“In Florida, there was a regulation that limited attorney advertising and what could be said, and that was just overturned in the Florida court system,” Temple notes.
Temple says while you can’t ban attorney advertising outright, it can be regulated to a certain extent.
“I don’t think you can tell people they can’t advertise if there’s some truth in advertising,” says Temple. “I think that might be the option, but I certainly look forward to being part of that conversation.”
Landry issued a statement Friday on social media.
“At a time when Louisianans are suffering and seeking answers to their sky high insurance bills, our Insurance Commissioner (Tim Temple) hosted a media spectacle telling citizens he has all the authority he needs to fix our insurance crisis,” Landry’s statement reads. “Well, why hasn’t anything been done? He gave us a package of bills last year, yet we still have no relief.
“I’d remind him that we were not elected by insurance companies or trial lawyers, but instead were elected by the people who entrusted us to fix this mess,” Landry’s statement continued. “Data shows our package of bills will lower insurance rates for all Louisianans and I look forward to the day where our Insurance Commissioner can get on board.”
Temple says nothing will be accomplished through bickering.
“I think it’s important that the governor of Louisiana as the leader of the state and the Commission of Insurance as the point person on insurance for the state work together,” Temple says. “If we’re working together, then the citizens of Louisiana benefit.”
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