Your state Insurance commissioner telling us what kind of discrimination is fair and whatnot
Donelon was there to testify on behalf of
this ridiculous "tort reform" bill intended to shield insurance companies from liability. Republicans have insisted that, despite the raging pandemic and deepening economic depression, this issue is actually the number one priority of the 2020 legislative session. The law, they say, is just not fair to their constituents... by which they mean the insurance companies ripping you off.
Supporters say the way Louisiana courts handle cases seeking
recompense for injuries in car wrecks differs from the rest of the
country and is the cause for the state having the highest average rates.
“The
ways our laws are set up, it’s not a fair system,” said state Rep. Ray
Garofalo, R-Chalmette and sponsor of HB9. He said several times that he
consulted widely with insurance companies while putting together his
bill.
Opponents point out that no data backs up those savings
claims. In fact, an empirical look at the proposal found little, if any,
impact on rates. The only thing the Omnibus Premium Reduction Act of
2020 is sure to do is to limit injured people’s access to the courts and
to lower the damages they could collect if they prevail.
The real shame of the pandemic is that keeping up with the ongoing horror movie we're living in is too much of a distraction from the farce of this session. The legislators really shouldn't even be here right now. A more sane and much safer plan would have had them get together (preferably by remote or at least
with their dang masks on) to pass the 18 or so constitutionally required bills, including a standstill budget that could be amended later when the economic forecast and prospects for federal aid are more clear.
Instead they are tackling very important matters such as
sports betting or banning the use of highly dangerous weapons such as
cell phones (
but definitely not guns.) And, of course, there is this "tort reform" scheme which, Donelon even admits, isn't likely to do what Repulican legislators claim it will. The reason it likely won't work is because insurers can ask him to keep it from working.
Both bills also require insurance companies to reduce rates by 10% if
their costs go down, unless they can prove to the insurance
commissioner that the rate reduction would hurt their business enough to
stop selling polices in Louisiana.
While having near identical
language in the two bills is probably persuasive in the supporters’
efforts for winning the debate, under the rules, both chambers are going
to have to approve a single bill before the legislation heads to the
governor’s desk. The session has 19 more days before adjournment.
Donelon acknowledged that he could not be sure that the companies will actually reduce rates by a specific amount.
Landry pointed to language in the bill which said that insurance
companies can ask the insurance commissioner to not lower rates by 10%.
Donelon said he would insist on the 10% reduction unless doing so
threatened an insurance company’s insolvency.
And we already know from the video above that Donelon has a good grip on what kinds of practices keep insurance companies solvent. So he knows what he is doing.
Also tort reform is, once again, becoming a major Republican priority in state housed across the country right now.
Here's an excellent recent episode of Citations Needed that looks at the history and politics of efforts like this to deny legal rights to victims of all sorts of corporate crimes.