I found Nerd Wallet’s article on Louisiana insurance rates interesting, but a bit distorted as to the cause of high insurance rates. NerdWallet parrots two overly simplistic reasons – ambulance chasers and elected judges. These are the same two arguments put forward by the insurance companies who set the high premiums, profit from the high premiums, and have no interest in protecting Louisiana citizens. We cannot forget that these insurance companies are very profitable. Their business is not altruistic. They set premiums to make a maximum profit. They seek laws that help them become more profitable.
Indeed, it was the insurance companies who lobbied for the law to require lawsuits to be filed in one year otherwise all claims are lost – a law that directly causes more lawsuits to be filed than other states. And, it is the insurers who now lobby for more jury trials for smaller cases – this proposal will delay trials (jury trials take more time and are harder to schedule), delay owed insurance payments (paying later or less is favorite insurance industry tactic), and increase more jury duty for all citizens regardless of the severity of the case or damages involved (jury trials are harder on the whole judicial system and on every day people who have to sit on the juries).
When discussing why insurance premiums are high, I’d recommend asking someone other than the insurance companies for their canned answers.
Insurance companies have no evidence to support their claim that judges side with consumers and not the insurers. Newsflash – there isn’t any evidence. And the innuendo that somehow judges are not upholding the law of our state is disrespectful to the citizens who vote for the judges that I see working very hard to provide a fair process. Believe it or not, being a judge is not a glamorous job, it is hard work coupled with hard decisions. Removing smart and hardworking judges from the process makes no legal sense – but it does make money sense. It makes lawsuits more expensive and time consuming for everyday people; thus, it helps the insurance companies pay less than they owe.
Also, note that Louisiana has one of the shortest time periods for a person injured in an accident to file a lawsuit – one year from the date of the accident. Most other states allow people more time, often 2 or 3 years. The longer time gives injured car accident victims time to seek medical treatment, heal (hopefully to a full recovery), and then negotiate a fair settlement with the insurance companies. After all, that is the purpose of insurance. It is meant to help all drivers. It protects the driver at fault by shielding them from liability claims up to the amount of the policy (pay a premium, hope you don’t need it, but if you get in wreck the insurer will cover the damages). It protects the injured person by giving them a pool of insurance to cover medical bills, property damage, and injuries caused by someone else’s fault.
But in Louisiana, the insurers asked for a strict one-year time period. As a personal injury lawyer who has helped many people in car accidents, I can tell you that when someone suffers a serious accident requiring surgery, they are often still receiving treatment one year after the accident. And nothing forces insurance companies to offer to pay monies owed within twelve months of the accident. Delays or under payments benefit the insurer. So to protect their rights against the insurer, an injured person must sue. The insurance companies do not waive this strict deadline. Rather, they work hard to enforce it. Any claim not filed within a year will be dismissed. So a good lawyer and smart injured person will file a lawsuit before the one year has run in order to protect their rights to recover money owed to the injured person – for medical bills, injuries, and pain they suffer, in the first year and to full recovery.
In other states, seriously injured car accident victims have to time seek doctors’ help, fully recover, and then negotiate a fair resolution where the insurer will pay for property damages, medical bills, and personal injuries. But the insurance companies like the strict one year deadline – their number crunchers most have figured out a stricter deadline helps their bottom line, even if on the surface increases the lawsuits filed, it also closes out payments for those who miss the deadline or those people who just don’t want to hire a lawyer or file a lawsuit.
My recommendation is to not seek answers to high premiums from the insurance companies – as their answers are about profit. I suggest looking to these other states with lower premiums and see why – what you will find are smart laws that help people, protect consumers, question insurance companies, and set up a strong respected rule of law.