Louisiana insurance commissioner announces auto insurance reform bills

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple announced a package of insurance reform legislation he supports during the 2025 regular legislative session on Thursday.

He was joined by Jake Minner and Jared Varnado, whose companies have been affected by the state's commercial auto insurance cost crisis.

Temple said that while they have made some progress, such as attracting new property insurers and seeing some companies file for rate reductions, more needs to be done.

He criticized Gov. Jeff Landry’s recent statements, clarifying that the state insurance department does have regulatory authority and full access to insurer data. Temple used data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to demonstrate that insurance companies are losing money in Louisiana, not profiting excessively as some suggest. Temple said many insurers have left the state or stopped writing new policies due to high losses.

"I reached out to several leaders in the insurance agent field about commercial auto insurance. I asked if they could send me a list of any insurers they know of that have left the state in the past decade. In just a few hours, I heard back, and the numbers are devastating. The few people I reached out to came up with a list of nearly 40 commercial auto insurance that left the state, stopped writing new business or limited their writing," Temple said.

The commissioner proposed robust legislative changes to tackle the root causes of Louisiana’s extremely high auto insurance rates.

"The package of bills I'm supporting will create transparency, certainty and predictability in our market, which brings carriers to our states and provides affordable options to Louisiana drivers," Temple said.

Here’s what Temple's plan for reform aims to address:

1. Legal Reform

• Implement measures to reduce frivolous lawsuits.
• Increase medical billing transparency.
• Modify comparative fault rules.

2. Market Competition

• Encourage more insurance companies to enter Louisiana's market.
• Create transparency and predictability to attract carriers.
• Lower barriers for insurers to do business in the state.

3. Cost Reduction Strategies

• Address high medical and legal utilization rates.
• Provide tax incentives for insurers.
• Create a permanent funding source for insurance programs.

Landry responds to Temple

Landry questioned Temple's lack of action, adding that data shows his package of insurance reform bills will lower rates for all residents.

"He gave us a package of bills last year, yet we still have no relief," Landry wrote on X.

Read Landry's rull statement below.

"At a time when Louisianans are suffering and seeking answers to their sky high insurance bills, our Insurance Commissioner @TimTtemple hosted a media spectacle telling citizens he has all the authority he needs to fix our insurance crisis. Well, why hasn’t anything been done?

"He gave us a package of bills last year, yet we still have no relief.

"I’d remind him that we were not elected by insurance companies or trial lawyers, but instead were elected by the people who entrusted us to fix this mess.

"Data shows our package of bills will lower insurance rates for all Louisianans and I look forward to the day where our Insurance Commissioner can get on board."

Gov. Jeff Landry via X

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