Governor Landry signs one of six auto insurance reform bills into law in a ceremony in the governor's mansion. Credit: Andrew Greenstein
We’re about to enter the home stretch of the legislative session, so the push is on for lawmakers to get their last-minute bills onto Gov. Landry’s desk.
The dominant issue in this session has been auto insurance reform, and a handful of bills have made it onto Landry’s desk.
On Wednesday, Landry signed six of them in a ceremony in the governor’s mansion.
Landry said the goal of these bills is to rein in runaway insurance premiums and insurance companies’ profits.
“Insurance companies make more money in Louisiana than they do in other states. And that’s wrong,” Landry said in the signing ceremony. “A recent report issued by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners showed that Louisiana has the third highest underwriting profit in the country.”
The bills Landry signed Wednesday are:
HB 148 — Insurance Commissioner Authority: Grants the Insurance Commissioner greater authority to hold down rates.
Landry says Texas, Mississippi, South Caroline, Florida, and Alabama — to just name a few states — all grant their insurance commissioners this power.
“Our insurance department needs the power and the tools to be successful in fighting for our citizens,” said Landry. “It is the insurance department’s job to protect you, to protect our citizens when those who we pay premiums to break their promises.”
HB 450 — Housley Presumption: Would require someone who sued over injuries in a car accident to show that the injuries actually occurred during the accident.
“50 days ago, I promised that I would sign into law a requirement that someone who sues over injuries sustained in an accident must prove that those injuries actually occurred in the accident,” said Landry. “Today, I’m keeping that promise.”
HB 434 — No Pay No Play: Would disallow a driver without car insurance from collecting an award for bodily injury medical expenses for any amount below $100,000, up from $15,000 today.
“Uninsured motorists should not be allowed to reap huge rewards on lawsuits,” Landry said. “They should not be allowed to cash in on general damages like emotional distress and pain and suffering.”
HB 436 — Undocumented Aliens: Would prohibit undocumented immigrants who are injured in car accidents from collecting general damages.
HB 431 — Comparative Fault: Would bar drivers responsible for at least 51% of an accident from receiving a damage award to cover their injuries.
For example, under current law, a driver responsible for 51% of the accident can collect a payment equal to 49% of the overall damage award.
Landry said businesses had been screaming for this bill for a long time.
“I promised our business leaders that we would work with them to make this a reality,” said Landry. “Today we fulfill that promise.”
HB 549 — Dash Cam Discount: Provides a premium discount for commercial motor vehicles with dashboard cameras and telematics systems.
“We will now require a 5% premium discount for large trucks that maintain dash cameras on their trucks to record their movements and protect them from lawsuit abuse,” Landry said. “Having an undisputed video camera evidence will reduce litigation, improve truck driver safety, and reduce the costs for everyone.”
With two weeks to go in the session, more bills could land onto Landry’s desk.
“Today, we’ve taken steps to shield Louisianans from frivolous lawsuits driven by trial lawyers—using a data-driven strategy,” said Landry. “And we made it clear to insurance companies that they must answer to their policyholders. Over the past 50 days, I am proud to say that the only side I’ve stood with is the people of Louisiana.”
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