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LOUISIANA NEEDS INSURANCE REFORM

We pay big bills every month for insurance in Louisiana. We’re told it protects us. But then when we need it, the insurance company refuses to pay out.

We need real reform to lower insurance rates, hold insurance companies accountable, and level the playing field with big corporations.

Our Mission

Real Reform Louisiana is a nonprofit organization of Republicans, Democrats and Independents dedicated to stopping insurance companies and big corporations from rigging the system against regular folks.

Using public education, advocacy and outreach, we raise awareness of the way insurance companies mistreat people and expose the real causes of high insurance rates.

We advance proven nonpartisan solutions to the problems facing the people of our state. We believe that Louisianans want real reform that will make their lives easier, make insurance work for them, and save them money. Louisianans don't want more handouts to special interests and the insurance industry that come at our expense.

Real Reform Solutions

Make insurance companies play by the rules.

Did you know that insurance companies purposefully deny legitimate claims in order to force disaster victims to accept low settlements? Or that they charge higher auto insurance rates to people based on their gender, education, occupation, marital status, and other factors that have nothing to do with driving?

A hurricane victim shouldn’t have to spend months in temporary housing because their insurance company refuses to pay. A plant worker shouldn’t pay hundreds more for car insurance than a corporate CEO just because he wears a blue collar to work.

We have the power to reform insurance in Louisiana and make the big companies play by the rules.

Make the insurance industry transparent.

To bring down insurance rates and get claims covered, we need to know how insurance companies make their money and how they spend it. How much of your premium goes to the countless insurance commercials on TV? How much goes to naming rights of football games? Right now we just don’t know.

If we identify the causes of high insurance rates, we can fix them permanently. We need transparency.

Write Your Legislator

Make the insurance commissioner do his job and increase competition.

Experts from both sides of the political spectrum agree Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is failing to properly regulate the insurance industry, and also failing to create the proper amount of competition in the insurance marketplace.

The insurance commissioner has many tools at his disposal to lower our insurance rates, but he refuses to use them. According to official campaign finance reports, the insurance commissioner received $680,000 from the insurance industry from 2015 to 2019.

It’s time for our people and our elected representatives to stand up and hold our insurance commissioner accountable.

Call The Insurance Commissioner

Stop pretending tort reform will lower insurance rates.

Big corporations and insurance companies have spent years telling us that the reason we have high insurance rates is our “legal climate.” It's a lie, meant to deny access to the judicial system to protect big corporations from liability and pad insurance company profits. Experts from within and outside the insurance industry have said repeatedly that tort reform will not lower insurance rates in Louisiana.

Big companies want tort reform to pad their profits at the expense of workers. If we pass tort reform and say it’ll fix insurance rates, it’ll be years before we enact real solutions to our problems. We don’t have time to wait.

Hear From Experts

News Room

Insurance Industry: "Credit Scores" Among Reasons for Louisiana's Rising Insurance Costs.

By Ben Riggs • 16 Feb, 2024

Insurance Industry: "Credit Scores" Among Reasons for Louisiana's Rising Insurance Costs. A new report shows that auto insurance rates are skyrocketing, rising by 26% across the U.S. On average, Louisiana drivers pay $2,909 annually, roughly 6.53% of their income for auto insurance. Wayne Watley at Watley Insurance Group lists “credit scores” among the reasons for Louisiana’s rising auto insurance costs, including poor roads and uninsured motorists. Mr. Watley goes on to say, “It’s a challenge because we’re not one of the richest states, but we have some of the highest premiums.” He is correct—and the data backs him up. Insurance companies use credit scores to determine insurance rates for policyholders. Louisiana ranks 48th in median household income and 49th in average credit score . According to a recent study , safe drivers in Louisiana with poor credit pay 111% more than safe drivers with excellent credit ($1,505 / $713). Consequently, Louisiana has the second-highest auto insurance rates in the nation, which leads to more uninsured motorists, another primary cause of higher insurance rates. The use of credit scores in rate setting also creates perverse incentive structures that make Louisiana roads less safe. In Louisiana, safe drivers with poor credit pay an average of $905 more than drivers with a DWI and excellent credit ($3,548 / $2,643). Meanwhile, traffic fatalities increased by 21% from 2019 to 2022 in Louisiana, and the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled increased by 18%, according to KPLC . Louisiana desperately needs real insurance reforms that lower costs, protect consumers, hold insurers accountable, and make our roads safer.