Latest Louisiana Headlines
All the headlines from our Louisiana Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Home-Elevation Grants Increased to $100,000 in Louisiana
Apr 9 2009 // Louisiana officials say they will let applicants for a federal home-elevation grant program collect as much as $100,000 for raising their houses above base flood levels, rather than the $30,000 cap the state originally...
Louisiana Insurance Agent Accused of Misappropriating Premiums
Apr 8 2009 // A Vidalia, La., insurance agent has been issued a cease and desist order, license revocation and fine notice for alleged misappropriation of insurance premiums. William Christopher Jackson, 38, was served by Department of...
Louisiana Agents See More Drivers Dropping Insurance
Apr 6 2009 // The Louisiana Workforce Commission said initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 3.4 percent for the week ending March 28 and remained at rates approaching double of those from a year ago. And amid these tough...
La. Insurance Commissioner Will Release E-Mails Under Judge’s Order
Apr 3 2009 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says he will “instantly” release e-mails at the center of a public records dispute involving the state’s insurer of last resort if a judge decides that he...
La. Account Exec. Named Region VI Insurance Professional for 2009
Apr 1 2009 // Pattie Smestad, an account executive with Eagan Insurance Agency in Metairie, La., was named 2009 Region VI Insurance Professional of the Year by the NAIW (International). Smestad, who has been with Eagan Insurance for 15...
Louisiana Crash Survivor Sues Helicopter Maker
Mar 30 2009 // The lone survivor of a helicopter crash that killed eight people in Louisiana in January is suing the aircraft’s manufacturer and two other companies. The federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Steven Yelton, of...
Ex-Louisiana Citizens Insurance CEO Wants Fraud Case Moved
Mar 27 2009 // The former CEO of Louisiana’s state-backed insurance company wants the criminal case against him moved from East Baton Rouge to Jefferson Parish. Terry Lisotta’s lawyer, David Courcelle, said the fraud case...
La. Regulator Reminds Homeowners About Citizens’ Tax Break
Mar 23 2009 // Louisiana homeowners have several ways to save money on their 2008 taxes. State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is reminding homeowners that they can get a tax rebate if they were charged a Louisiana Citizens Property...
La. Court: Rapper Must Turn Over Financial Records
Mar 19 2009 // A New Orleans federal magistrate has ordered rapper Lil Wayne to turn over financial records for one of his albums to a folk singer, who accuses him of copyright infringement. U.S. Magistrate Daniel Knowles III on...
Portion of Former Louisiana AG’s Suit Against Insurers Dismissed
Mar 16 2009 // A federal judge in New Orleans has dismissed some claims in a lawsuit filed by a former Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti against dozens of insurance companies over payments to policyholders receiving funds from the...
Mississippi Officials Warn Against Buying Cottages in Auction
Mar 13 2009 // The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is discouraging people from purchasing Mississippi Cottages for housing at an auction in Louisiana next month because the units were damaged by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. MEMA...
Louisiana Insurance Agent Arrested
Mar 11 2009 // The Louisiana Department of Insurance reported that a St. Martinville insurance company employee has been arrested, served with a cease and desist order, notice of license revocation and a fine for alleged misappropriation...
Union Pacific Freight Car Carrying Molten Sulfur Derails in Louisiana
Mar 9 2009 // Louisiana State Police have lifted a shelter-in-place order resulting from the derailing of a freight train car carrying molten sulfur near Placquemine, La., on Mar. 7. The derailed freight car sprang a leak and dribbled...
Former Insurance Brokers Sentenced in Louisiana Bribery Scheme
Mar 6 2009 // Two major figures, both former insurance brokers, in a wide ranging investigation into corruption at the Orleans Parish School Board have been sentenced in federal court by U. S. District Judge Martin L. C. Feldman,...
Louisiana, Mississippi Among Highest Homeowner Rates in 2006
Mar 5 2009 // Louisiana homeowners paid the third-highest home insurance rates in 2006, while Mississippi was hit with the sixth-highest average bill for coverage, according to a report by a national group of state insurance...
Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Rates on Downswing
Feb 27 2009 // Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon says rates for workers’ compensation insurance continue to decrease in his state, based on a recent report from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)...
Allstate, State Farm Dismissed from Case Charging Katrina Overbilling
Feb 20 2009 // A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of Allstate Corp. and State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. from a lawsuit accusing them of overbilling the U.S. government for flood damage in Louisiana related to the 2005 storm...
Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Insurer to Pay $7.5M Dividend
Feb 18 2009 // Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC) announced it will pay a $7.5 million dividend to qualifying policyholders in February. The pay out will bring LWCC’s cumulative total dividend paid to...
Louisiana Returned $6M-plus to P/C Insurance Consumers in 2008
Feb 12 2009 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced that the Property and Casualty Consumer Affairs Division at the Department of Insurance aided Louisiana insurance consumers in receiving approximately $6,400,000 in...
Louisiana Lowest in Seat-Belt Use, Safety Commission Says
Feb 11 2009 // The National Highway Traffic and Safety Commission says Louisiana drivers are less likely to buckle up than drivers in any other state that has primary seat-belt enforcement laws. Last year, the Louisiana Highway Safety...
