Lousiana lawmakers are working to lower the cost of motor vehicle insurance.

House Bill 372 addressing costs passed the house floor with a 69-30 vote. 

River Ridge representative Kirk Talbot proposed the bill which creates the Omnibus Premium Reduction Act of 2019.

The bill addresses some of the factors that go into Louisiana having the highest insurance rates in the country. 

When asked if this bill would benefit drivers, local attorney Glen Armentor said, “No, it is worse for everyone.”

The abstract of the bill that just passed the house floor addresses four points. The bill proposes to increase the time in which you can file a lawsuit from one year to two. Second, the bill would reduce the threshold for a jury trial to $5,000. The current threshold is set at $50,000. The proposed bill would also reduce damages for amounts paid from collateral sources. Lastly, it would repeal the right of direct action against an insurer. 

Armentor says there is no specific language or guarantee that rates will drop.

He explains, “The only way you get insurance companies to lower their rate is to put it in the bill, and it is not in the bill.” He says, “They blame lawyers for raising the rates really high. That’s not what’s really happening. What’s really raising the rate is the fact that Louisiana has more accidents and more serious accidents because we have the worst drivers. We have the worst road. We have a lack of drivers education. We have the cheapest cars, with no safety features. They end up causing more accidents and more serious accidents and hurting more people. That’s what’s driving the rates up.”

Talbot, the author of the bill, has said that he does not believe costs will immediately drop but he does think this would make Louisiana more competitive to insurance companies to help drive down rates. 

If signed into law the bill would go into effect January 2020.