Latest Louisiana Headlines

Louisiana Governor Signs Ban on Chinese Drywall Cancellations

Jul 12 2010 // Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has agreed to ban insurance companies from dropping coverage of homeowners who have found corrosive Chinese drywall in their homes. Jindal’s office announced that the governor has signed...

Louisiana Agent Accused of Misappropriating Premium

Jul 8 2010 // A West Monroe, La., agent has been served by Department of Insurance Fraud Section Investigators with a cease and desist order, a summary suspension order and fine notice for alleged misappropriation and...

Wortman Retiring as CEO of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

Jul 6 2010 // John Wortman, CEO of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens), the state’s property insurance of last resort, has announced plans to retire. “John Wortman has been a tremendous asset to Louisiana...

Louisiana AG to Feinberg: Keep State in the Loop

Jul 5 2010 // While the claims process related to the BP oil spill may be improving, Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell still wants to keep tabs on it. A Louisiana district court judge in June approved Caldwell’s request to...

Jul 5 2010 // 77.2% In most hurricane-prone states, homeowners have few choices for insurance coverage, with just eight property and casualty insurers in each state controlling up to 77.2 percent of the market share, according to Weiss...

Bad Weather Hinders BP Oil Cleanup; Oil Invades More Wetlands

Jul 2 2010 // Tropical storm Alex slowed oil spill clean-up and containment work in the Gulf of Mexico and drove more petroleum into fragile Gulf wetlands and beaches Thursday, with any permanent fix to BP Plc’s ruptured deep-sea...

FARA Insurance Services Adds Pinac to Senior Management Team

Jul 1 2010 // FARA Insurance Services, a Mandeville, La.-based provider of claims administration and risk management solutions, has added Cherie Arceneaux Pinac to its senior management team. Pinac will serve as vice president for...

BancorpSouth Insurance Exec Re-Elected to Louisiana Guaranty Board

Jun 30 2010 // BancorpSouth Insurance Services president Markham McKnight has been re-elected as treasurer of the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) board. McKnight brings 28 years of experience to his position. In addition...

Hurricane Alex to Hamper BP’s Gulf Oil Disaster Containment Effort

Jun 29 2010 // Tropical Storm Alex is expected to reach hurricane strength on Tuesday, with high winds and vast waves set to hamper BP Plc’s latest efforts to contain the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Shares in London-based...

Louisiana Hurricane Recovery Board Disbanding

Jun 29 2010 // The Louisiana Recovery Authority’s board ended its multibillion dollar rebuilding work on June 24, nearly five years after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. The LRA board of directors – a volunteer board largely...

Homeowners Offered Few Insurance Choices in Hurricane States

Jun 28 2010 // In most hurricane-prone states, homeowners have few choices of insurance coverage, with just eight property and casualty insurers in each state controlling up to 77.2 percent of the market share, according to Weiss...

Attorney Contingency Fee Bill Dies in Final Hours of Louisiana Session

Jun 25 2010 // As time ran out on the Louisiana legislative session, lawmakers were unable to complete a deal on a Senate Bill 731, which would have allowed the attorney general to hire outside attorneys on a contingency fee basis,...

Louisiana Gov. Adds to Attorney General’s Coffers for BP Investigation

Jun 24 2010 // Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has designated another $5 million – for a total of $10 million – of the $25 million block grant provided by BP to Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s office to support...

Judge Tells Louisiana to Reconsider Health Insurance Contract

Jun 23 2010 // A judge on June 21 ordered the state of Louisiana to reconsider its award of a contract to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana to administer the HMO health plan for state workers, retirees and their dependents. Humana...

Louisiana Legislature: No Malpractice Coverage for Elective Abortions

Jun 22 2010 // Doctors shouldn’t be covered under medical malpractice laws when they are providing elective abortions, the Louisiana Legislature has decided. The Senate gave final passage with a 31-2 vote to the bill by Rep. Robert...

Louisiana AG Files Petition Against BP

Jun 21 2010 // Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has filed a Petition for Discovery and Investigation against British Petroleum in state court in Plaquemines Parish as a result of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The...

Louisiana’s Melancon Urges BP to Pay Jobless Rig Workers’ Full Salaries

Jun 18 2010 // U.S. Congressman Charlie Melancon (LA-03) says lost wages of oil rig workers who are out of a job due to the moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could reach as high as $330 million a month. Melancon...

Health Complaints in Louisiana from Oil Spill Pollutants Now at 109

Jun 17 2010 // There have been 109 reports of health complaints believed to be related to exposure to pollutants from the BP oil spill, according to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. That number is up from 71 complaints...

Bill to Ban Chinese Drywall Cancellations Approved in Louisiana

Jun 17 2010 // A ban on insurance companies dropping coverage of homeowners who have found corrosive Chinese drywall in their homes is headed to Gov. Bobby Jindal after getting final legislative passage. The bill by Rep. Julie Quinn,...

Judge: Louisiana Attorney General Can Investigate BP

Jun 15 2010 // Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has been told he can go ahead with his investigation of BP, the rig explosion that’s dumping oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and the company’s process for compensating...