Governor Jeff Landry released an insurance reform plan that if approved by lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session would put new regulations on both insurance companies and trial lawyers. The governor says one of the bills he’s pushing would require attorneys to prove injuries in a claim are the result of the accident.
“This measure would make it harder for frivolous lawsuits to move forward by making the lawyers and their clients prove their injuries were the result of the car accident, not a pre-existing injury or an injury that occurred after the accident,” Landry said.
Landry says he’s poured over the data on why Louisiana’s auto insurance rates are among the highest in the country and found minor injury claims in Louisiana double the national average.
The governor says he also wants to rein in lawyer advertising as he believes that’s pushing car crash victims to seek big settlements.
“Too much of this advertising is having a cultural effect on our society, and it’s not healthy. However, to balance this, insurance companies should not be allowed to pass their advertising costs into the bills of Louisiana families,” Landry said.
Landry says his insurance reform plan is a balanced approach as he’s not seeking to pass laws that benefit trial lawyers over insurance companies or vice versa. He says another key to lowering auto insurance rates is fewer wrecks and one to accomplish that is through efforts to minimize distracted driving.
“The tragic consequences of distracted driving are far too common and contributes to too much of the insurance problem that we’re seeing today,” Landry said.
Landry says he supports a bill that would allow law enforcement to pull drivers over that are caught texting or using social media while driving.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.