Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a package of bills that he says will drive down auto insurance rates in the state. Among the bills he signed on Wednesday are a package of bills Landry calls the largest tort reform effort in Louisiana history and a new law that gives the Louisiana insurance commissioner greater authority to reject rate increases.
So how much will these bills drive down rates? It depends on who you ask.
"I mean, if I look at it right here, it's six, six-and-a-half, seven . . . I mean, it should be at least 10 percent," Landry said. "Some of these things have measurable savings, small savings--some two percent, five percent, one percent, .1 percent."
Landry says the bills he signed will lead to savings being passed down to insured drivers, especially House Bill 148, the bill authorizing the insurance commissioner to unilaterally deny insurance companies' requests for rate increases without using data to justify the decision.
"Giving the Insurance Department the power to watch how expenses are laid out in the insurance companies, we should see the premiums go down."
However, NOLA.com legislative reporter Tyler Bridges says that might not be the case. According to Bridges, the insurance industry says that bill will do the opposite of what Landry claims. In fact, Bridges says insurance executives believe HB 148 could tank Landry's entire agenda.
"The business sector was not included in the press conference because of House Bill 148, which is the bill that the insurance industry says is so bad it will outweigh all of the good bills that have passed."
"The insurance industry and the commissioner of insurance are saying that one bill is so bad that it will outweigh all of the other ones," Bridges said. "I don't think it's a clear picture of what's going to happen going forth. The governor got everything that he wanted, including the opportunity to blame the commissioner of insurance if the rates don't come down."
The tort reform bills signed today will require someone who sued over car crash injuries to show that the injuries occurred during the accident, ban drivers found responsible for at least 51 percent of a crash from receiving injury awards, and ban undocumented immigrants who are injured in crashes from collecting general damages.
Another bill will provide premium discounts to commercial motor vehicle drivers who install dashboard cameras and telematics systems.