Gov. Jeff Landry wins early round in Louisiana car insurance fight with Commish Tim Temple

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A high-stakes legal and political battle between Gov. Jeff Landry and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple — one that affects everyone who has car insurance — played out in a House committee room at the State Capitol on Wednesday.

After hearing from Landry, the House Insurance Committee sided with him by overwhelmingly passing a measure that he said would allow Temple to reject excessive rate increases for car insurance.

Temple spoke after Landry and told committee members that House Bill 576 would give the commissioner the authority to act capriciously in ruling whether to approve rate increases, a move he said would ultimately harm the state.

The governor said passing the bill is so important to him that he will call legislators into a special session to consider it again if they reject the measure.

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Underlying the three-hour hearing on HB576 is the political fight over who will take the heat for car insurance rates that are driving angry voters to give an earful of complaints to Landry, Temple and state legislators.

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Asked after the hearing what would happen if the bill passes and Temple doesn’t stop the continued climb in insurance rates, Landry replied, “The people could hold him accountable.”

Temple, asked afterward whether he thought the governor was trying to set him up to take the blame, referred to a recent interview that Landry gave to conservative talk show radio host Moon Griffon.

“If the rates don’t go down, then it’s on him,” Landry told Griffon, referring to Temple.

Said Temple on Wednesday: “I don’t know if he really intended that. But he said it.”

Under current law, the commissioner approves rate increases that are “actuarily justified,” meaning a staffer has reviewed the data from insurance companies and found the proposed increase to be mathematically sound.

Under HB576, by Rep. Robby Carter, D-Greensburg, the commissioner could simply decide that the proposed rate increase was excessive and deny it.

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Using populist language and casually dressed in blue jeans and an open collar shirt, Landry said lawmakers have passed a host of measures in recent years at the behest of insurance companies to lower rates.

“We have been asked to trust them,” Landry said. “But we have no ability to hold them accountable if they lie.” As a result, he added, “Insurance companies continue to report record profits while our rates continue to rise. It’s frustrating our citizens.”

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Temple replied that giving an insurance commissioner the authority to rebuff rate increases without basing the decision on data would discourage companies from wanting to do business in Louisiana. Consumers would be the losers, he added, saying he has already refused to approve 40 rate increases.

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Temple blames high insurance rates on a legal system that he says allows too many lawsuits and big payouts for injured drivers and their attorneys.

His solution is to impose fewer restrictions on insurance companies and restrict the legal rights of trial lawyers in the belief that those changes would make more companies want to come to Louisiana to operate.

Temple said that is already happening for property owners after the Legislature passed a slew of insurance measures affecting them last year. Eight insurers have filed for lower rates this year, he said.

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