NEW ORLEANS — The growing number of insurance companies choosing not to write policies in the state has left homeowners grappling with sky-high insurance premiums.
In a letter published in the Times Picayune, New Orleans Advocate, Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple laid out a legislative agenda calling for less insurance regulations.
Something the former insurance executive says will help create a more stable and predictable market that encourages insurers to do business in the state.
Temple is asking lawmakers to get rid of the three-year rule which prevents insurance companies from dropping customers who’ve held policies with them for three years.
Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge supports the bill.
“We need availability,” Talbot said. “We need competition. There are companies that simply will not write here because of that three-year rule.”
Rep. Kyle Green, D-Marrero sits on the House Insurance Committee.
He’s open to the idea but has some concerns.
“It’s more of a consumer protection issue that provides consumers with the protection that after a disaster your insurance company is not just going to leave you high and dry,” Green said.
Temple also wants to strengthen Louisiana’s Fortified Roof Program by securing a long-term funding source from the industry.
It grants up to $10,000 for homeowners to repair or replace their roofs to a higher standard.
“There’s a state rep. I know who lives Uptown and she just put I guess the equivalent of the gold level fortified roof on her house, 50 percent reduction, right off the bat for that,” Talbot said.
Despite the popularity of the program, Governor Jeff Landry’s state budget proposal puts less money into the program than the current fiscal year.
“It was concerning that the governor put out a package, his proposal that kind of slashed that funding significantly,” Green said. “I hope that the appropriations committee can find ways to restore that funding.”
Temple says he is also working to make “the claims process simpler and more transparent so insurers can pay claims more quickly, while reducing the number of lawsuits filed against insurers operating in good faith.”
State lawmakers are set to start their regular legislative session at noon on Monday.
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