Over the strong objections of Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple and the insurance industry, the House deferred to Gov. Jeff Landry and gave final passage to a bill Tuesday that he says will make it harder for insurance companies to raise rates.

Temple objects because he says the measure, House Bill 148, will allow the insurance commissioner to reject rate increases without justification. That, he adds, will discourage companies from investing in Louisiana, and the reduction in competition will make it harder to keep rates down — the opposite of what Landry says.

Allstate and State Farm officials met privately with the governor to express their opposition to a provision added in the Senate late Wednesday night that will require insurance companies to reveal rate-setting information that has been secret.

National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, which represents 38% of the insurance market share in Louisiana, wrote in a letter to the governor Tuesday that the provision is so bad that it will outweigh any of the measures passed this year and last year by Landry and legislators that they said would hold down property and car insurance rates. 

The bill is “likely to decrease competition by discouraging insurers from devoting capital to the state,” says the letter.

Another group, the Insurance Council of Louisiana, also expressed its opposition, echoing the mutual insurance companies in a letter to Landry.

“House Bill 148 will significantly discourage needed insurance capital that would have otherwise come into the Louisiana marketplace,” wrote Rodney Braxton, executive director of the Insurance Council of Louisiana. “While this bill may come out of good intentions, the likelihood is that it will cause bad outcomes.”

Landry has turned aside those objections, saying that giving the commissioner broader authority will provide a needed check on the insurance companies. He plans to sign it and several pro-industry bills Wednesday at the Governor’s Mansion.

Landry has said that if rates continue to rise after the bill becomes law, he plans to blame Temple.

The other measures the governor plans to sign will reduce lawsuits and payouts and, ultimately, rates, say supporters of those bills.

Tuesday’s votes in the House were a foregone conclusion following extensive maneuvering by Landry behind the scenes.

The saga of what became HB148 began with House Bill 576 by Rep. Robby Carter, D-Greensburg. Carter’s bill would have allowed the insurance commissioner to block “excessive” rate increases without relying on hard data from his department’s actuaries. Landry testified in the committee room for the measure, the only time he did so for a bill during the legislative session.

But after the Insurance Committee approved HB576, the Republican-led House refused to advance it because so many Republicans opposed it. Carter is a Democrat, and he has fought the insurance industry.

Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, came to the governor’s rescue by offering to amend HB148, which at that point was a relatively innocuous measure sponsored by Rep. Jeff Wiley, R-Gonzales, with language from Carter’s bill. The House approved the amended HB148, 68-34, but nearly half the Republicans voted against it, an atypical development in a chamber where Landry has normally held near absolute sway.

HB148 then passed over to the Senate for consideration. It seemed likely to stall until Landry swung into action, repeatedly pressing Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, and Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, the insurance committee chair and a close friend of Henry’s who has traditionally aligned with the insurance industry.

Late Wednesday night, Talbot asked the Senate to pass HB148 but only after amending it by copying the confidentiality language from a House bill sponsored by Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs.

In an unusual move, Henry and Talbot did not inform Wilder or Wiley of their plans, the two legislators said.

The Senate approved the amended version of Wiley’s HB148 and sent it to the House to concur with the Senate’s changes.

In another unusual move, Glorioso handled HB148 rather than Wiley.

Glorioso gave a short explanation, two House members asked brief questions, and the House approved it, 76-16, with only Republicans opposed. Landry gained a much bigger margin than when it was passed in the House previously. Republican sources said fewer members wanted to oppose Landry on a bill that they knew would pass.

The House also gave final passage Tuesday to House Bill 431 by Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, a measure that the insurance industry and its legislative advocates said was badly needed.

HB431 would bar drivers responsible for at least 51% of an accident from receiving a damage award to cover their injuries. Under current law, a driver responsible for, say, 51% of the accident can collect a payment equal to 49% of the overall damage award.

The House also gave final passage to House Bill 436 by Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock. It would prohibit undocumented immigrants injured in car accidents from collecting general damages.

Landry is also expected to sign House Bill 434, which would reduce payouts to uninsured motors injured while driving, and House Bill 450, which would require someone who sued over injuries in a car accident to show that the injuries actually occurred during the accident.

The insurance industry is still pushing to win approval of Senate Bill 231, which has passed the Senate and is awaiting action before the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee. It would allow lawyers for insurance companies to tell jurors how much people injured in wrecks actually pay in medical bills. Under current law, jurors hear the total amount billed, regardless of what the plaintiff paid.