Claims drive up insurance premiums
- SCCLR Newsletter
- Dec 3, 2025
- 4 min read
By: Kaitlin Maness
Commercial auto insurance premiums continue to rise in Louisiana, though private passenger auto insurance premiums have started to decrease, state Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says.
Temple visited West Monroe Tuesday to discuss recent auto insurance reform and what else needs to be done to make auto insurance affordable across the state at an event hosted by the West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce.
State Sen. Stewart Cathey said he hoped auto insurance premium holders across the state would start to get relief as auto insurance reform approved by the state Legislature went into effect.
“Insurance reform is like turning a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean,” said Cathey, R-Monroe. “It takes time to turn it. I think you’re going to see over the next couple of years, due to reforms that have been put in place, an improvement here across the market. We’ve already started to see it. Rates are going to come down.”
Last month, Temple approved private passenger auto insurance rate decreases for Allstate North American Insurance Company (7.6 percent) and Encompass Insurance Company of America’s National General (15 percent). On Dec. 2, he explained the rate decreases could partially be attributed to auto insurance reforms approved by the Legislature earlier this year.
“We’ve had two companies that have recently filed for rate decreases in private passenger auto,” Temple said. “They said they were willing to give a little bit more rate relief because Louisiana is starting to make itself a more competitive state—a better place to do business.”
Temple noted, however, that commercial auto insurance premiums were still on the rise because of motorists in Louisiana who seek excessive litigation after an accident involving a commercial vehicle.
“When they carry higher limits, they get sued for more money,” Temple said. “It’s that simple, but we are not seeing any relief there. I want people to be compensated and be taken care of but some of this stuff has just gotten ridiculous. When it starts forcing businesses in Louisiana out of the state because they can’t afford their insurance, we’re not taking care of our people.”
For example, 66,000 Louisiana motorists filed bodily injury claims after auto accidents in 2021, while 32,000 Alabama motorists filed bodily injury claims, according to Temple. He noted that there were 3.4 million licensed motorists in Louisiana in 2021, while there were four million in Alabama.
“When we file a bodily injury claim, then we litigate three times the national average,” Temple said. “Insurance companies spent half-a-million dollars more in that year in our state than they did in Alabama. So, what does that mean? They need more premiums to pay those claims.”
“It’s not rocket science,” Temple continued. “It’s not hard. Insurance is a complex issue but this problem is not complex. We have people that abuse the system in our state. That is it.”
Temple pointed to a case involving a Monroe man who was arrested in October for allegedly planning and staging 16 vehicle crashes and receiving some $156,000 from the fraudulent claims as another example of the auto insurance industry being “abused” in Louisiana.
The Legislature approved a law during its regular session earlier this year that mandated that forbade a motorist from recovering any compensation if they were 51-percent responsible for an auto accident. According to Temple, similar laws currently existed in 33 other states.
“Prior to this being passed, I could run into you being 90 percent at fault, sue you, win and recover money,” Temple said. “That doesn’t make any sense at all. We anticipate that to start to have some effect going forward.”
Temple pointed out that 17 states have general damage caps for auto accidents, meaning there was a limit on how much compensation motorists could recover after a vehicle crash. He said he favored a cap being considered in Louisiana to “disincentivize people from filing frivolous claims.”
“If you put a general damage cap, that does not touch the medical complaint,” said Temple, explaining that a cap would not prevent an actually-injured person from being compensated. “If it says you’re going to have $20 million worth of medical for the rest of your life, you can get awarded $20 million worth of medical.”
According to Cathey, it would be difficult for the Legislature to pass a cap because trial lawyers “who are very well funded” would use a sympathetic person, such as a mother who lost an infant in a vehicle crash, to speak against the measure and cause lawmakers to be ridiculed for their votes on the matter.
“Then, anybody on that committee that votes against or for a cap, there’s going to be a social media ad attacking them for that,” Cathey said. “That’s just the reality of it. Look, we signed up for that. Attack me all you want, I’m a big boy, but that’s why those things are hard to get done.”
Temple urged motorists to educate themselves about the auto insurance industry and their own auto insurance policies. He also encouraged motorists who were concerned about the industry and their premiums to attend meetings of the Legislature in Baton Rouge to advocate for more reform.
“I’m encouraged by the participation I’ve seen over the last two years,” Temple said. “We saw a lot. More people like yourselves were coming to Baton Rouge. I think your voice is amplified when you’re in the Capitol than it is when you’re in your district.”
“When you show up at the Capitol and you’re organized and you’ve got a message, I think it carries more weight,” Temple added. “We need more engagement like that. We need more people coming down, and your voice is being heard there.”
