Senate Insurance Chairman Kirk Talbot says he will propose a bill to have the state Insurance Commissioner appointed instead of elected. This comes nearly two weeks after longtime Commissioner Jim Donelon made the announcement not to seek re-election. Talbot says the individual selected should be qualified and ready to fight for the consumers.
“We need a regulator. We need someone with experience to come in and have the freedom to make the hard decisions and to take the politics out of that office.”
Talbot says Louisiana is one of eleven states who still elect the Insurance Commissioner. He says the bill would include a selection process in which the Governor could personally appoint or have a board submit qualified candidates for the process.
“And there are different ways you can do it – some states have a blue-ribbon panel from stakeholders in the industry that come up with names. Submit those names to the Governor and the Governor can pick one of those names.”
The bill would permit term limits ranging from two to six years. It would also require a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to pass the legislature. Talbot says Louisiana’s insurance market is in a crisis and this could be a potential solution for better rates for consumers.
“I think we need to do what’s best for Louisiana. We have big problems here and we’re going to have storms again. We’ll see what happens.”
The proposed legislation would be heard in the legislative session that begins April 10th.
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