Gov. Jeff Landry Wins Early Round In Louisiana Car Insurance Fight With Commissioner Tim Temple

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.

Eight of his aides were in the small committee room while Landry spoke in favor of the bill.

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.

Under some measures, Louisiana has the highest car insurance rates in the country.

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.

The commissioner needs that authority to stop insurance companies from continuing to raise rates, Landry told the committee members.

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."

Rep. Tammy Phelps, D-Shreveport, expressed that sentiment when she accused Temple of not doing enough to stop the rate increases.

She said she favored HB576 because she is on the side of consumers.

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.

The bill sought by Landry is part of what he calls "a balanced approach" to solving Louisiana's car insurance crisis.

The governor is also supporting several bills that trial lawyers oppose.

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.

But the auto insurance problem remains particularly acute for commercial trucking companies, said Renee Amar, a lobbyist for truckers. They typically have only two choices for insurers, which drives up their rates, she added.

Along with Landry's aides, insurance company lobbyists took many of the other seats in the committee room Wednesday, and they sided with Temple when it came their time to speak.

Rodney Braxton, a lobbyist for the Insurance Council of Louisiana, said passage of HB576 would have "a chilling effect" on insurers.

The high car insurance rates have emerged as the biggest political issue during the regular legislative session that began Monday.

One of the subplots is that Landry and Temple have not been talking while House members, pushed by freshmen Republicans, have been holding hearings for months to find solutions. Most of their bills align with the insurance industry.

Landry and Temple said the two finally got together on Tuesday. Both said they had a cordial discussion at the Governor's Mansion.

"We both want the same goal, which is for citizens and businesses to have lower insurance," Temple told reporters afterward. "We just have a little bit different perspective on how to get there."

Seven Democrats and six of the 10 Republicans voted for HB576.

The four Republicans who bucked the governor were: Reps. Dennis Bamburg of Bossier City, Jay Gallé of Mandeville, Troy Hebert of Lafayette and John Illg of Metairie.

"A number of us had questions about what we were trying to accomplish and whether it really moved the needle," Illg said afterward.

In an unusual move, Rep. Chad Brown, D-Plaquemine, a former deputy insurance commissioner, presented the bill for Carter. Afterward, he said the governor's office asked him to do so because he is so steeped in the issue. Carter said in a phone interview later that he missed the hearing because he was sick in bed.

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