Louisiana’s Lawmakers Aim To Ease Regulations For Wary Insurers

State Sen. Kirk Talbot on Monday outlined several solutions the Legislature will consider this session to mend Louisiana’s battered property insurance market, including changes to some restrictions that he said have soured insurers on the state.

Talbot, the chair of the Senate’s insurance committee, told the Baton Rouge Press Club Monday that some lawmakers hope to amend a law that bars insurers from dropping policyholders who have been on their rolls for more than three years, though he didn’t detail possible changes.

Talbot also plans to file a bill that would make the role of state insurance commissioner an appointed position, rather than an elected one. Doing so would give the governor more oversight over the position, and could open it up to someone with a high level of insurance expertise, he said.

Talbot said state law presently tilts in favor of protecting policyholders. But lawmakers should instead focus on easing market conditions for firms leery of practicing here, Talbot said, as more than a dozen companies since 2020 have gone belly up or left the state on the heels of several destructive storms.