Bossier City insurance salesman Adam Bass pushes bill in Louisiana Senate to end insurance policy '3-year rule'
Plus: New wrinkle in Bossier Parish law enforcement scams. Easter weekend weather forecast. Bossier City event calendar.
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Bossier City insurance salesman Adam Bass pushes bill in Louisiana Senate to end insurance policy '3-year rule'
State lawmakers are on track to repeal a consumer protection law adopted after Hurricane Katrina that forbids homeowner insurance companies from canceling policies that have been in effect for more than three years.
Senate Bill 370, sponsored by Sen. Adam Bass (R-Bossier City), advanced from the Senate in a 28-9 vote Tuesday. House Bill 611, sponsored by Rep. Gabe Firment (R-Pollock), passed in the House of Representatives in a 72-32 vote Wednesday.
The bills are nearly identical. Both would repeal Louisiana’s unique three-year rule, which prohibits insurance companies from raising deductibles, canceling or not renewing homeowner policies that have been in effect for more than three years.
If either of the proposals is approved, insurers would be allowed to cancel up to 5% of their policies each year as long as they aren’t all in one parish.
The 5% mark is not a hard cap. Insurers can cancel as many policies as they want with approval from the insurance commissioner.
A provision in the legislation declares an insurer’s cancellation plan a corporate “trade secret” not subject to Louisiana’s Public Records Law.
Industry-friendly push by Insurance Commissioner Temple
The proposals are part of Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple’s agenda, which includes industry-friendly bills he has said are needed to bring competition back to Louisiana. He believes that with more insurers writing policies, property owners will see lower premiums.
Before winning election last year, Temple spent more than two decades in the insurance industry, managing and owning the kinds of companies he now regulates.
Louisiana, particularly in the southern part of the state, has some of the highest property insurance premiums in the nation. An increase in the frequency and strength of hurricanes has fueled rate increases — and led some of the largest insurers to stop offering policies in coastal areas.
Temple has argued that the three-year rule is the biggest obstacle keeping insurance companies from doing business in Louisiana. Bass and other Republican lawmakers have repeated this argument.
An attempt to 'make it a more free market'
"What we’re trying to do here is make it a more free market and attract more competition into the state to be able to write business," Bass said during debate on the Senate floor Tuesday.
When Sen. Joseph Bouie (D-New Orleans) asked if new insurance companies would come to Louisiana after the bill is enacted, Bass admitted the bill is actually only one piece of a larger puzzle.
Bouie and other Democrats argued the three-year rule is the only thing stopping further rate hikes and cancellations. They also rejected suggestions that Louisiana’s insurance crisis is the result of burdensome regulations and excessive lawsuits.
The current insurance crisis began when five costly disasters hit the state between 2020 and 2021, sending several small insurers into bankruptcy or prompting them to leave the hurricane-prone state for areas of lower risk.
'We can't afford the premiums we have'
Sen. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) argues the three-year rule is part of the problem.
"What good is the three-year rule right now?" Talbot said. "We can’t afford the premiums we have."
The rule only prevents insurance companies from being able to manage risk by canceling risky policies, he said. Instead, it has forced insurers to raise premiums.
The three-year rule already has some exceptions that allow insurance companies to cancel policies that become too risky. Reasons include a "material change in the risk being insured" or if renewing a policy "endangers the solvency of the insurer."
'If this don't work, what's next?'
During Wednesday's debate on the House floor, Rep. Matt Willard (D-New Orleans) questioned the motives behind the legislation. If the goal is to attract new insurance companies to the state, the bill should only affect future policies and shouldn’t be applied retroactively, he said.
The immediate effect of the legislation will be a purge of the riskiest policies, Willard said, forcing those homeowners to buy the most expensive, last-resort coverage from the state-run Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
"Do you think new insurance companies are gonna come in and pick up the riskiest policies?" Willard asked.
Rep. Bryan Fontenot (R-Thibodeaux) told colleagues he was torn about how to vote on the bill. He said it is unlikely to affect him personally because his house is just four years old, but it would certainly cause his grandmother, along with other elderly and poor people in his district and across the state, to lose her coverage.
On the other hand, Fontenot said, previous ideas to fix the insurance crisis have not proven effective.
"Ask yourself, 'If this don’t work, what’s next?'" Fontenot said before voting in favor of the bill.
The measures now switch chambers, where they face additional committee and floor votes prior to final passage.
– By Wesley Muller/Louisiana Illuminator
New wrinkle in Bossier Parish law enforcement scams
Scammers have gotten more sophisticated in their attempts to steal your money.
A long-running scheme in Bossier Parish has been for residents to be called by someone pretending to be Bossier Parish Sheriff deputies and saying that the victim owes money to the courts or Sheriff’s Office.
The scammers then instruct the victim to pay with gift cards or Venmo. A pure cash play.
The new wrinkle: Scammers are "spoofing" the official sheriff’s office number, 318-965-2203, to make the call appear legitimate.
"The Bossier Sheriff’s Office will never solicit money for anything over the phone," BPSO said in a social media post. "Please do not fall victim no matter how official the caller may sound."
Bossier City traffic hassle
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development says that beginning on Monday, April 1, 2024, the outside (right) lane of LA 3 (Benton Road) northbound just south of Flowerbrook Street in Bossier Parish will be closed.
This lane closure is anticipated to last approximately 30 days and is necessary to allow an outside contractor to install a deceleration lane at the Safe Harbor development.
Deceleration lanes enable a vehicle that is exiting the roadway to decrease its speed to a rate at which it can safely leave the main travel lane.
Bossier City free time calendar
Live music and notable events for your consideration.
March 29: Couples Therapy: A relationship-themed comedy show at the Louisiana Grandstand.
April 2: MANIA -The ABBA Tribute at the Strand Theater, celebrating the iconic Swedish pop group's 50th anniversary.
April 6: Gary Allan in the Paradise Theater at Margaritaville Casino.
April 6: Experience a Nashville-style songswap at the Louisiana Grandstand, headlined by John Baumann (The Panhandlers) and Mike McClure (The Great Divide).
April 12: Shreveport Blues Festival: Tucka, King George & Pokey Bear at the BGA.
April 12: Country music sensations The Castellos at the Louisiana Grandstand.
April 15: The Harlem Globetrotters at the BGA.
April 18: Brent Cobb brings his "Livin' The Dream" Tour to the Louisiana Grandstand.
April 20: Hank Williams Jr. at the BGA.
April 20: Bryan Martin at the Louisiana Grandstand.
May 3: The Cox Family brings Grammy award-winning bluegrass to the Louisiana Grandstand.
May 4: Dylan Leblanc returns to his hometown of Shreveport with his band to promote his newest album release, "Coyote," at the Louisiana Grandstand.
May 17: Marc Broussard and his father, Ted, return to the Louisiana Grandstand. Last year, they packed the house and had an unforgettable show. This year, they'll bring another instrumentalist or two for an even bigger show.
May 25: Better Than Ezra in the Paradise Theater at Margaritaville Casino.
May 31: Jacob Stelly is a Texas sensation with a world-class band as he comes home to family and friends in Bossier City and performs at the Louisiana Grandstand.
June 1: Rick Springfield and Richard Marx in the Paradise Theater at Margaritaville Casino.
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