The first five weeks of the legislative session have been dominated by the debate over proposed fixes to the state’s insurance and lawsuit abuse crises. Now, nearly all the core bills have made their way through both chambers (with a few exceptions) and will almost surely be headed to the darkness of the conference committee.
The debate on more than a dozen bills has ranged from productively robust to disgustingly ugly and nearly everything in between. It’s a good time for a reset of where we are and where we should go.
Let’s start with the ugly. Groups like Enough is Enough Louisiana have targeted Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple and a number of state legislators with unnecessary vitriol, even going so far as to “dox” Commissioner Temple by publishing his home address. These attacks, including billboards and online advertising, are not only inappropriate but also distract from the critical policy discussions at hand. Such tactics are especially troubling in the wake of the recent tragic murder of an insurance company executive, underscoring the potential dangers of inflamed rhetoric. Shame on them.
Reasonable people can disagree on solutions, and a fact-based robust debate is good for everyone. Personal attacks and malicious name-calling solve nothing and risk something much worse.
Most everyone agrees on the problem: our state’s insurance markets are among the most expensive in the nation, driven by excessive litigation and outdated regulations. Louisiana’s bodily injury claims and legal losses far exceed national averages, inflating premiums and driving insurers out of the state. Particularly striking is that Louisiana has more bodily injury litigation claims than all of New York, despite New York having eight million (232%) more licensed drivers.
This isn’t just a statistic – it’s a burden on families and businesses struggling to make ends meet.
As legislators prepare to consider final, amended versions of the various bills, we recommend going back to basics and evaluating them through the lens of core principles and priorities:
- Competition and consumer choice over government overreach and price controls.
- Streamlined regulatory structures over complex or heavy-handed regulations that stifle new entries into our market.
- Transparency measures that provide regulators and consumers with the information needed to support informed decisions.
- Structural reforms for the legal system that underscore fairness and accountability and that curb lawsuit abuse.
Here’s the good news: we don’t have to guess at the outcomes of a number of the proposals, based on the experience of other states. Take Florida, for example, which reached a similar crisis point as Louisiana two years ago. The Florida legislature leapt to action with reforms similar to those proposed by Commissioner Temple and by Gov. Jeff Landry’s Insurance Transition Council in 2024.
The outcomes? According to a recent piece by Christian Cámara, “Insurance litigation in Florida is down by about 30% from two years ago and, importantly, a dozen new insurers have entered the state. Since January 2024, 19 companies have filed for a rate decrease and 37 companies have requested no premium increases.”
It’s time for the legislature to review proposals with fresh eyes, move past the noise, and return to principles that work: competition, fairness, and transparency. By embracing these, we can write Louisiana’s comeback story – one where insurance is more affordable, lawsuit abuse is a thing of the past, entrepreneurs thrive, and families stay.
By Daniel Erspamer is CEO of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
