APCIA responds to Catastrophe Reform Package of bills

An hour after the Catastrophe Reform Package of bills was announced March 10 by Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon, Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, who chairs the Senate Insurance Committee, and Rep. Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge, who chairs the House Insurance Committee, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) issued a statement by Lee Ann Alexander, APCIA vice president, cautioning against unintended consequences.

“We look forward to reviewing the legislative package described today and to working with Commissioner Donelon, Senator Talbot, Representative Huval, and the Louisiana Legislature during the upcoming legislative session.

“While we are all appropriately focused on ensuring that Louisianans are well on their way to financial and emotional recovery after the devastating storms of 2020 and 2021, APCIA is concerned that some actions taken by policymakers could inadvertently lead to unintended consequences that could jeopardize Louisiana’s insurance markets for years or decades to come,” Alexander said.

Louisiana consumers will be hurt if they cannot access the insurance products they need as a result of actions taken in the coming months.

“APCIA respectfully urges policymakers to use caution as they look to reform the state’s homeowners insurance laws. To ensure the widest range of affordable products and services are available to Louisiana consumers, insurers must have the ability to manage their risks and be able to operate in a reasonable environment. Countrywide, consumers, businesses, and insurers alike are experiencing challenges from increased natural catastrophe claims, Covid supply chain issues, and the fastest rise in inflation in 40 years. These events are straining both insurers’ and consumers’ resources both nationally and in Louisiana.

“The circumstances we all find ourselves in make it imperative that we work together to find common-sense, workable solutions in order to retain a stable insurance market that works for Louisianans. We are all in this together.”