What have you done for me lately?

As State Senator for District 36, I get asked this question often. My first year in office was a wonderful experience even with the COVID 19 issue and the unusually bad storm season. I was surrounded by good people, and quite a few of them were business-oriented and conservative like myself. We worked together and accomplished some things the previous set of legislators had not been able to do.

Let’s visit on some of what went on in Baton Rouge lately. You likely noticed your automobile insurance costs have become harder to afford, and as if our hard-earned dollars weren’t already being stretched thin, Louisiana is officially the most expensive state in America for auto insurance. According to the Insurance Research Council in a report delivered on Nov. 14, 2018, as a percentage of median income, Louisiana residents spend more of their income on auto insurance than any other state. More than people spend in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama or Florida. It’s like we’re being hit with another tax -- a lawsuit abuse tax! But help is on the way, thanks to the efforts of many good people working together at the Louisiana State Capitol in 2020.

Have you noticed a trial lawyer advertising on a billboard or television? Like every two minutes? There’s a reason. We are paying more per car per year for insurance than our neighbors, $3 million a year more! Louisiana leads the nation in the average cost of collision, property damage and, most of all, bodily injury per accident. Based on our driving records, these high costs would be out of line, but Louisiana has a substantially higher injury claim frequency than our neighbors. Are Louisiana citizens more fragile than people from Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi? No, but we are more prone to claim excessive property damage and bodily injury from minor collisions than others. We are also more prone to involve an attorney in the settlement of a claim of $15,000 or less. An attorney involved in a settlement of small claims drives up all costs ... higher medical treatment, higher claim costs and substantially longer settlement times of small claims.

Now, it didn’t take an Einstein to see several of the culprits in our high insurance costs.

1) Louisiana’s $50,000 civil jury trial threshold had created a bonanza for lawyers. The next highest threshold in all of America was $15,000, and 36 states have a $0 jury trial threshold. The 2020 legislature passed a law lowering the jury trial threshold to $10,000, not as low as I wanted but a very good start at reform.

2) Louisiana’s seat belt gag rule would not allow the admission of the fact that an injured party was not restrained by a seat belt as required by law. We completely repealed that limitation, and undeservedly high awards will be brought down, a solid victory for consumers, I say.

3) Previously, judges and juries in Louisiana were not allowed to know what actual medical costs were incurred, only the “list price” of charges listed by medical providers. Insurance companies negotiate and pay medical costs substantially lower than the “list price.” Why not know the true costs when determining judgements? We made good progress on this issue, and now the actual costs incurred are submitted in proceedings, a very good change in my opinion.

4) Louisiana is one of only three states where a plaintiff can directly sue your insurance company for your actions instead of suing you. Dragging insurance companies into a lawsuit just to highlight the financial strength of the defendant is wrong and sways awards higher. Your 2020 legislature limited this, and again, I’m proud to have been a part of the effort.

These changes to our legal system did not take effect until Jan. 1, and it will take a year or more for the actual savings to start showing up in your mailbox, but I’m confident things are changing and in the consumer’s favor.