Legislation focuses on consumers and targets trial lawyers

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The Louisiana Legislature wrapped up its 2025 regular session Thursday having passed an agenda to try to lower insurance rates with legislation that focused on consumers and so-called "tort reform" policy targeting personal injury lawyers on the belief they are the cause of the state's high coverage premiums.

The agenda was part of what Gov. Jeff Landry promised to shepherd through the legislature as a "balanced approach" to the state's insurance crisis. However, one of Landry's latest actions — vetoing a tort reform bill Wednesday — has upset a member of his own party, Sen. Alan Seabaugh, R-Many.

Seabaugh sponsored Senate Bill 111, which would have watered down Louisiana's "bad faith" statute that holds insurance companies liable when they unreasonably delay or deny claims. Such practices made headlines in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Landry snubbed Seabaugh's bill, writing in his veto explanation that it would have allowed insurers to deny claims, refuse reasonable settlements and avoid accountability.

"If the legislature would like to make reasonable changes to the bad faith statute next year, I will gladly work with them over the next year to make those changes," the governor said.

In an interview Thursday, Seabaugh expressed frustration with Landry, saying he felt blindsided by the veto because he thought he had the governor's support. He contrasted Landry with former Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat.

"John Bel would call and tell me when he vetoed a bill," Seabaugh said. "Jeff didn't."

Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said Landry also doesn't speak to him before vetoing any legislation, though Henry did not express any frustration over it.

As for the rest of the approved insurance legislation, Henry said it lives up to the governor's promise of a "balanced approach" to rein in both sides — insurance companies and trial lawyers — and their unpopular practices that have become the target of complaints from policyholders.

The Senate president said he wants to hold off on any additional reforms for a couple of years to see if the measures approved this session have any impact on policy rates.

"That's kind of a wait-and-see game," Henry said, adding that laws the insurance industry backed last year are supposed to lower homeowner premiums but have so far not had any noticeable impact.

Others are less confident that the new laws will do anything to lower insurance rates.

"I talked to people in the insurance industry who tell me none of this is gonna make rates go down," Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, said, citing statements from the heads of tort reform associations.

Another controversial measure became the center of a public feud between the governor and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple.

House Bill 148 by Rep. Jeff Wiley, R-Maurepas, was among the first this session that Landry signed into law, gives the state insurance commissioner power to strike down any insurance rate increase considered "excessive" or unreasonably high. Prior to the change, the commissioner could only exercise that power after holding a public hearing in which someone proved the state insurance market lacks competition.

Although Wiley sponsored the bill, the governor crafted the legislation with the help of two House Democrats and lobbied heavily for its passage, arguing that Temple wasn't doing enough to regulate insurance rates.

Temple and other critics argued that Landry is using the new law to try to deflect any blame voters might place on him for Louisiana's insurance crisis.

Wiley's bill allows the public to review documents insurance companies file with the state when seeking a rate increase, but only if the insurance commissioner determines the information shouldn't be kept confidential as a proprietary trade secret.

It takes effect on Aug. 1.

Consumer-focused bills

Among the many insurance bills passed this session was House Bill 329 by Rep. Troy Hebert, R-Lafayette, which allocates $5 million per year to the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program with fees collected from insurance companies. It will take effect July 1, 2026.

The program, managed by the Louisiana Department of Insurance, offers $10,000 grants to homeowners for the installation of hurricane-resistant roofs and has been effective at lowering homeowner insurance costs, according to a review by Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack.

Senate Bill 28 by Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, would give homeowners a nonrefundable income tax credit for up to $10,000 for out-of-pocket expenses used to pay for a fortified roof. Combined with an LDI grant, the new tax credit could allow more Louisiana homeowners to invest in fortified roofs. Talbot's bill is pending approval of the governor.

House Bill 345 by Rep. John Wyble, R-Franklinton, requires a 60-day notice, up from 30 days, from an insurer to a policyholder prior to any cancellation or non-renewal of a homeowner policy except when termination of coverage is for nonpayment of premium. The bill is pending the governor's consideration.

House Bill 496 by Rep. Troy Hebert, R-Lafayette, would give policyholders a pass protecting them from any rate increases tied to a lapse in auto coverage so long as the lapse doesn't exceed 90 days. The bill would prohibit insurers from penalizing policyholders for a single instance of nonpayment during a five-year period. It received overwhelming bipartisan support from both chambers and is pending approval by the governor.

Senate Bill 34 by Luneau would prohibit an insurance company from changing or altering the repair estimate filed by the adjuster originally assigned to the claim without that adjuster's permission. It is pending approval by the governor.

Pro-insurance, tort reform bills

House Bill 450, by Rep. Michael Melerine, R-Shreveport, ends the Housley presumption, a standard of evidence explained in a 1991 Louisiana Supreme Court ruling that applies to auto accidents, medical malpractice and other injury lawsuits. In a nutshell, the Housley presumption says courts should assume a plaintiff's injuries resulted from the accident in question if they were in good health beforehand.

Lawmakers tried repeatedly to revoke the presumption in previous years, only to see their attempts fail or vetoed. Landry signed Melerine's bill into law May 28, and it took effect immediately.

Senate Bill 231 by Sen. Mike Reese, R-Leesville, deals with a concept called "collateral source" that prevents civil defendants from admitting certain types of evidence into court, which critics say has allowed plaintiffs to sue for medical expenses they never actually had to pay. Reese's bill would effectively undo that rule and could ultimately reduce the money plaintiffs can recover in auto accident lawsuits. It is pending consideration by the governor.

House Bill 431, by Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, limits the ability for people to recover damages for injuries sustained in accidents for which they are mostly at fault. The bill changes Louisiana's comparative fault statute, which assigns a percentage of blame to each party in an accident and allows for the recovery of damages in proportion with those percentages.

Under prior law, a person partly at fault in an accident would be liable for their share of the damages and can recover the remaining amount found to be the fault of the other party. Chenevert's bill changes that to prohibit recovery of any amount by a party who's 51% or more at fault. It will take effect Jan. 1.

House Bill 436, by Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, prohibits "unauthorized aliens" — defined in the measure as individuals illegally in the United States under federal immigration law — from receiving general damages stemming from auto accidents. General damages include compensation for pain and suffering, but the proposal would still allow recovery for "special damages" such as medical expenses and property damage. It will take effect Aug. 1.

House Bill 291, sponsored by Rep. Jay Gallé, R-Mandeville, would extend the filing deadline, called a "prescriptive period," for wrongful death lawsuits from one year to two, aligning Louisiana with the deadline in most other states. It does not apply to medical malpractice cases.

Proponents of the bill have argued a shorter prescriptive period attracts more tenuous lawsuits by essentially forcing people to quickly file claims so as to not lose their litigation rights. The proposal, which awaits the governor's consideration, also complements a similar measure lawmakers approved last year to extend the deadline for filing personal injury claims.

The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization/