Jim Beam

State legislators have filed homeowner insurance bills for their session that began Monday that deal with the problems many Southwest Louisiana residents are facing following Hurricanes Laura and Delta.

Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, and Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Moss Bluff, are sponsoring legislation that has the support of Real Reform Louisiana. The organization describes itself as “a nonprofit organization of Republicans, Democrats and independents dedicated to stopping insurance companies and big corporations from rigging the system against regular folks.”

Rep. Phillip Tarver, R-Lake Charles, has filed a bill that Real Reform opposes. It says his legislation weakens the state’s “already weak bad faith rules, encouraging insurance companies to deny claims and defraud policyholders with minimal consequences.”

Senate Bill 70 by Abraham stops insurers from charging multiple hurricane deductibles to a business in the same year.

Abraham said individual homeowners have that protection from multiple deductibles and he believes businesses deserve the same protection.

Geymann’s House Bill 585 changes the time frame to make payment on insurance claims from 30 days to 15 days. It changes the time frame to initiate adjustment on claims from 14 to 7 days.

Real Reform said the legislation “strengthens bad faith as an effective deterrent against the shady practices being used by insurance companies.” The legislation holds the insurance commissioner personally liable for failing to enforce insurance law, and Real Reform says that is what the commissioner is doing in Southwest Louisiana today.

Eric Holl, executive director of Real Reform, said there is a bipartisan demand for real homeowner and auto insurance reform in Louisiana. He said insurance companies are neglecting hurricane victims in Southwest Louisiana so badly that it threatens the region’s economic recovery.

The organization supports HB 469 by Rep. Ed Larvadain, D-Alexandria. It said the legislation “closes loopholes used by insurers, which puts storm victims in insurance purgatory by endlessly delaying claims in a deliberate effort to force policyholders into accepting settlements much lower than what they are owed in their policy.”

SB 54 by Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, also has Real Reform’s support. It requires insurers to inform prospective policyholders of “named storm” deductibles and get their consent before the policy takes effect. The organization said many hurricane victims in Southwest Louisiana were shocked when they learned how much they had to pay before they could begin to collect on their policies.

Real Reform is supporting  HB 458 by Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, that requires insurance companies to provide alternative living expenses in policies if the policyholder’s property is without essential utilities for 24 hours or more.

Holl said, “We’ll never lower rates and protect consumers if we continue to allow the insurance industry to dictate the rules of the game. Louisiana needs real insurance reform.”

Rep. Les Farnum, R-Sulphur, is sponsoring HB 386, which provides for the appointment of special masters in parishes included in a major disaster declaration. There would also be the possibility of mandatory mediation with the goal of expediting resolution of a dispute. Real Reform didn’t take a stand on Farnum’s legislation.

Homes like this one were among thousands destroyed when Hurricane Laura hit Lake Charles on Aug. 27, 2020.

Rick Hickman