Under a new state law, Louisiana insurers will be required to give mandatory disclosure of prior policy premium when issuing a renewal policy to a policyholder.

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple sent an advisory letter to insurers in July notifying them of the rule. The mandatory disclosure rule is part of a controversial law that intends to give the insurance commissioner more power to reign in “excessive” rates.

Under House Bill 148, the prior policy premium must be prominently displayed and set forth in close proximity to the renewal premium.

Temple said he is currently in the process of promulgating a regulation addressing the rule, which was created under House Bill 148 in this year’s legislative session.

Because the promulgation process includes certain time delays prescribed by law, and in light of the challenges raised by the insurance industry, insurers are given a grace period to develop the necessary programming to comply with the rule.

All insurers must be in compliance with the rule by January 1, 2026.

HB 148 was among the most controversial insurance-related bills passed by lawmakers this session. Temple and insurance industry representatives opposed the bill, which amends statutory law to say that insurance rate filings standards “shall not be excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory,” whether or not the market is competitive.

“I think this would be devastating to insurance companies in evaluating wanting to do business here,” Temple told IJ before the bill received a final vote in the House.

The bill would ostensibly allow the insurance commissioner to deny any rate increase deemed “excessive,” even if insurers believe the rate changes are actuarily justified.

HB 148 was sponsored by Jeff Wiley (R-Maurepas) and publicly supported by Governor Jeff Landry.

Proponents of the bill say it brings Louisiana in line with states like Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Florida and Alabama in giving the commissioner the power to hold down rates.

Temple said the law has the potential to deter insurers from writing business in the state.

“As a regulator, I still have to make sure that insurance companies remain solvent and charge adequate rate for solvency purposes,” Temple said. “There’s an argument being made that a commissioner could artificially suppress rates, and that is not good for long-term viability of a company or a marketplace.”

Under the bill, insurers must disclose all discounts that the insurer offers that may reduce homeowners or motor vehicle insurance premiums for a policyholder or prospective policyholder in no less than 12-point typeface.

The bill allows rate filings and documents used to support such rates to be accessible to the public unless such information is confidential, a trade secret, or proprietary.

Such a determination will be made by the insurance commissioner.

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association warned HB148 is likely to deepen Louisiana’s on-going insurance affordability and availability crisis.

“HB 148 will politicize the process by which insurers set rates when it should be a fact-based, actuarial science-driven process. By allowing the arbitrary suppression of rates and forcing companies to share proprietary or trade secret information, Louisiana will likely teeter towards a very unstable road similar to California,” APCIA said.

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Louisiana