Insurance and legal reform dominated discussion at the Capitol throughout week one of the 2025 Louisiana Legislative Session. And it’s no wonder why. Our state’s economy has immense potential, yet it’s weighed down by skyrocketing insurance costs and a legal climate that drives jobs away. Public opinion polls consistently show this is a key issue for voters.

Recognizing this, state lawmakers have filed hundreds of bills that purport to address Louisiana’s auto insurance crisis—some provide for major reforms that will actually address the root cause of rising rate, while others appear to be nothing more than window dressing, while there are some that could actually drive more insurers out of the Louisiana market, potentially making the crisis worse.

On Tuesday, the long process of sorting the good, the bad and the ugly began in earnest, as members of the House Civil Law Committee advanced six key reform bills that are now headed to the House floor for debate. Brief summaries of these bills are outlined below.

Pelican applauds Chairman Nicholas Muscarello for prioritizing debate on these bills and Reps Josh Carlson, Emily Chenevert, Kathy Edmonston, Peter Egan. Brian Glorioso, Mike Johnson, Michael Melerine, Christopher Turner, Lauren Ventrella, Mark Wright, and John Wyble for standing with Louisiana families and businesses and voting in favor of these much-needed reforms.

HB 34 by Rep. Brian Glorioso (R-Slidell)– This is one of many bills filed this session, which seeks to increase transparency in civil litigation and improve how our legal system handles the recovery of medical expenses following an accident. As noted in a recent column by Pelican CEO Daniel Erspamer, Louisiana has three times the number of bodily injury claims and twice the number of losses, when compared to the national average. Why are Louisiana’s rates of bodily injury claims and losses so substantially out of proportion? In addition to truly bad actors in the system who fake accidents or injuries, current rules prohibit juries from considering the true cost of medical expenses that are actually paid to medical providers. This often leads juries to overestimate the actual cost of medical expenses and ultimately award inflated judgements.

HB 34 would allow juries to see the true cost of medical expenses that are actually paid, not just the amount billed. This could help align damages more closely with real economic loss, making outcomes more accurate and grounded. Many states have already modified or abolished the traditional collateral source rule to curb excess recovery and promote fairness. HB 34 would modernize Louisiana’s tort system and align it with national trends in civil justice reform.

HB 431 (Chenevert)- Changes Louisiana’s pure comparative fault system to a modified comparative fault standard, bringing Louisiana in line with a majority of the country. HB 431, as amended, bars damage recovery in civil litigation if a claimant is 51% or more at fault in causing their own damages. Thirty-four states use a modified comparative fault system, making Louisiana a clear outlier among the rest of the country. HB 431 seeks to address that and bring more fairness and balance to Louisiana’s legal system.

HB 450 by Rep. Michael Melerine (R-Shreveport)– HB 450 takes a critical step toward restoring fairness in Louisiana’s courts by eliminating the Housley Presumption—a judicially created rule that automatically assumes an injury was caused by an accident, even without proof.

HB 443 by Rep. Chance Henry (R-Crowley) – HB 443 promotes fairness and transparency in the legal system by requiring attorneys to notify defendants within 10 days of being hired to file a lawsuit. This simple change gives defendants a chance to resolve claims early—reducing unnecessary litigation, easing court backlogs, and encouraging quicker, fairer outcomes for all parties involved.

HB 434 by Rep. Jason Dewitt (R-Tioga)– Strengthens Louisiana’s No Pay, No Play law by raising the recovery threshold for uninsured drivers in accidents to $100,000 for bodily injury and property damage, up from $15,000 and $25,000 respectively. It is estimated 13.7% of Louisiana drivers are uninsured. This reform discourages driving without insurance, curbs inflated damage awards, and helps drive down auto insurance costs for everyone.

HB 291 by Rep. Jay Galle (R-Mandeville)- Last year, lawmakers extended the prescriptive period on most civil claims from one to two years to bring Louisiana in line with most other states. HB 291 addresses the prescriptive period for survival actions and wrongful death actions to mirror that timeline. Extending the prescriptive period for survival and wrongful death actions from one to two years ensures grieving families have adequate time to seek justice.

Pelican CEO Testifies in Opposition to Government Overreach, Rate Setting Bill

Pelican CEO Daniel Erspamer “We see California and others that are dealing with very significant insurance crises. In large part, those are driven by government overreach in ways that are well intended and sound good, but lead to the opposite outcome—and that’s, we believe, the impact of what this bill will do.”

Pelican Cautions Lawmakers on HB 576, A Step Backward for Insurance Reform

One of the most concerning bills moving through the legislature is HB 576 by Rep. Robby Carter (D-Amite), which could lead to heavy-handed government rate setting of insurance rates and discourage market competition and investment at a time when Louisiana can least afford it.

As amended by the House Insurance Committee last week, HB 576 seeks to empower future state insurance commissioners with broad, unchecked authority to reject rates—even those that are actuarially justified. This opens the door to arbitrary decisions and threatens to destabilize the very market lawmakers are trying to fix.

As Pelican CEO Daniel Erspamer stated before the Committee, “We urge lawmakers to advance policies that 1.) provide real solutions to actually solve the insurance crisis 2.) resist the temptation to government overreach and 3.) ensure there is transparency and accountability in the system without enabling one agency or one individual with undue power.”

Despite concerns expressed by Pelican and many others, HB 576 advanced out of committee and now heads to the House floor for consideration. Pelican applauds Reps. Dennis Bamburg, Jay Galle, Troy Hebert & John Illg for voting NO on HB 576 and standing with Louisiana families and businesses who want real solutions, not distractions or heavy-handed government regulations to address the insurance crisis.