BATON ROUGE, LA – As the new session of the Louisiana Legislature prepares to begin tomorrow, lawmakers are already signaling what they describe as a “common-sense approach” to addressing Louisiana’s soaring insurance rates: encouraging residents to file fewer insurance claims.
Several legislators previewing their priorities ahead of the session say the proposal focuses on what they call the “root cause” of high premiums, which they describe as people using the insurance policies they pay for.
“Every time someone files a claim, that’s another claim,” one lawmaker explained while discussing the upcoming session. “If we can reduce the number of claims being filed, we can naturally reduce the number of claims insurers have to pay. It’s really just basic math.”
Under the concept being floated ahead of the session, residents would be urged to consider whether storm damage, vehicle accidents, or other insured losses are truly worth reporting to their insurance company.
Officials say the approach could significantly improve Louisiana’s insurance market by reducing what one aide called “unnecessary interaction between policyholders and their policies.”
Some lawmakers have also suggested that if residents exercised more restraint when filing claims, insurance companies might eventually feel comfortable lowering premiums.
Lawmakers say if the idea proves successful, the next phase of the plan may encourage residents to consider repairing damage themselves before involving insurance companies at all.
