Letters: Louisiana on wrong path to address insurance crisis

The increased threat of severe weather is driving Louisiana's insurance crisis. There are no easy solutions, but state regulators should not make the situation worse. Unfortunately, this is precisely what Commissioner Tim Temple did during the 2024 legislative session.

Temple worked to pass legislation that makes it easier for insurers to cancel policies and harder for storm victims to file claims. His package does nothing to lower insurance rates. In fact, it allows insurers to raise rates more frequently.

The centerpiece of Temple's package repeals Louisiana's three-year rule, enabling insurers to non-renew tens of thousands of policies, which will result in more policies migrating to Citizens, the insurer of last resort. Louisiana won't solve an insurance crisis that revolves around a lack of availability by forcing people to insure with "the last resort."

Another part of Temple's package allows rate increases to go into effect without prior approval from the Department of Insurance. It also allows more frequent rate changes. This follows Temple's elimination of the cap on expected profits insurers file with the state. Temple's push to deregulate the industry will lead to insurers raising rates on Louisiana policyholders more frequently.

Other bills in Temple's package gut vital consumer protections and weaken laws that hold insurers who act in bad faith accountable. While Commissioner Temple advocated for these bills, he was sitting on the results of an investigation by his department that, according to the newspaper, found that after Hurricane Ida two companies "failed to pay claims on time in nearly a quarter of cases." Temple kept his promise to the industry to be "a more friendly department," choosing not to fine them.

Louisiana is facing a climate-fueled insurance crisis. Unfortunately, Commissioner Temple's approach focuses more on Big Insurance's profit margins than on providing relief for suffering homeowners and small businesses.

BEN RIGGS

executive director, Real Reform Louisiana