Photo by Brooke Thorington
The 2024 legislative session begins at noon Monday. Insurance reform is a hot-button issue up for debate. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says lawmakers want to do something to lower insurance rates.
“Neighboring states are paying less for insurance. It’s one of the problems in Louisiana. It’s one of the things that dominated campaigns. It’s one of the things we should see a lot of discussion. It’s one of the things can we accomplish in the session. How do we lower insurance.”
Homeowners in Louisiana pay on average about two thousand dollars every year for insurance. And Louisiana ranked second to Florida for the highest car insurance rates.
Pinsonat says since 2020 dozens of insurers have withdrawn, canceled or refused to renew existing policies in Louisiana. He says the new legislature heard from constituents on the campaign trail about skyrocketing insurance costs
“What do we do about the lack of insurance for homeowners during catastrophes, hurricanes, and all that stuff? How do we keep insurance companies here? How do we reduce the cost of insurance on families as far as automobiles?”
Streamlining the state’s constitution will be another topic up for debate during the three-month-long legislative session.
The state’s constitution was adopted in 1974 and has been amended more than 200 times. Governor Jeff Landry has discussed with Republican lawmakers about taking some items out of the state’s constitution and putting them into state law. Pinsonat says a bill to condense the constitution has yet to be filed.
“We’ve heard discussions about a new constitution. Will that surface? How do they do that? That’s part of the strategy of overhauling Louisiana.”
Any changes to the state’s constitution would need voter approval and the proposed changes could be placed on the November Presidential ballot.
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