LDI unveils insurance package for upcoming legislative session

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - Property insurance in Louisiana is a sore subject with many people who have struggled through hurricanes in the last few years.

After back-to-back hurricanes, most homeowners in this area are concerned about property insurance in the state.

“Well, the price is going up. And I constantly worry about what it’s going to be the next time it renews. And I don’t know what would happen if we had another major hurricane,” said homeowner Nathan Dondis.

Melissa Padgett has thoughts about self-insuring.

“It’s just absolutely ridiculous for what you pay for and what you’re getting. Because when the hurricanes did come and I did have property damage, I had carriers that wouldn’t pay or wouldn’t pay all of the claim,” she said.

Insurance commissioner Jim Donelon and legislative insurance committee chairs released their package of bills for this session as the program to attract companies to the state is about to begin.

“We are next week planning to distribute the $42 million that has been approved by the joint legislative budget committee for distribution,” said Donelon.

Optimistic that the insurance market can be restored and stable, he says their legislative goals focus on getting companies back and protecting consumers.

“We’re also proposing legislation that would prohibit property insurance policy holders from assigning their benefits to third parties to like roofing companies without their company’s approval,” said Donelon. “Other legislation we are proposing this session includes a bill that addresses an issue in which some insurance companies have attempted to prohibit policyholders from hiring a public adjuster.”

There will also be efforts to make it less likely that insurance companies here fail by monitoring their solvency. Watch the news conference HERE.

Minutes after the news conference a group called Real Reform issued the following statement:

Commissioner Donelon believes the solution to Louisiana’s insurance crisis is to further attack storm victims. Donelon’s legislative package doubles down on the same anti-consumer, pro-insurance approach that lead to a $45 million taxpayer hand out to big insurance companies and ultimately him stepping down as commissioner. Louisiana families and small businesses are still struggling to recover from three major hurricanes. We cannot afford to relax consumer protections and further hurt storm victims, especially those already forced to pay the highest premiums in the state. Louisiana needs real reform that increases competition, lowers costs, and protects policyholders.

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