Latest Louisiana Headlines

All the headlines from our Louisiana Topic Page, ordered by recency.

La.’s Valued Policy Law: New Teeth for Hurricane Claims?

Jan 27 2008 // Property damage from hurricanes primarily comes from two sources: wind and water. Insurance coverage for property damaged by wind, and by rain water which enters the property as a result of wind damage, is generally...

5 Carriers Receive $29 Million in La. Incentive Grants

Jan 27 2008 // Department to accept next round of applications Feb. 4 through Mar. 3 At a Jan. 11 press conference, Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon and then-Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco handed out $29 million in grants...

Homeowner Premium Discounts for Storm Mitigation Coming to La.

Jan 23 2008 // Insurance premium discounts will soon be available to homeowners who install storm mitigation improvement devices or build or retrofit their homes to comply with Louisiana’s Uniform Construction Code, Commissioner of...

Two Ex-police Officers in La. Acquitted of Insurance Fraud Charges

Jan 22 2008 // Two former Monroe, La., police officers have been acquitted in federal court on allegations they committed insurance fraud. A 12-person jury returned the verdicts in the case against Brandon Brooks and former police union...

Information Harder to Find After La. Rating Commission Abolished

Jan 22 2008 // Since the Louisiana Insurance Rating Commission was abolished at the end of 2007, those interested in what’s happening with insurance rates have been reduced to using a bare bones search engine on the state insurance...

La. Bail Bond Agent Arrested, License Revoked

Jan 17 2008 // The Louisiana Department of Insurance reported that a Shreveport bail bond agent has been arrested, issued a cease and desist order, a revocation of his license and fine for the felony crime of filing false public...

La. Ag Commissioner Pulls Agency Employees off Construction Projects

Jan 17 2008 // Louisiana’s new agriculture commissioner, Mike Strain, wasted no time in ending his department’s much criticized use of non-construction employees for major building projects. The state’s Office of Risk...

La. Supreme Court to Hear Katrina Flood Claim Case

Jan 17 2008 // The Louisiana Supreme Court will hear arguments Feb. 26 to decide whether homeowner insurance policies cover water damage done to thousands of south Louisiana properties when the levees broke after Hurricane...

Agent to Head P/C Office at La. Insurance Department

Jan 15 2008 // Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon appointed Edward O’Brien to serve as the deputy commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Insurance Office of Property & Casualty, the department announced....

La. Insurance Department Chief of Staff Resigns

Jan 14 2008 // Chad Brown, chief of staff for the Louisiana Department of Insurance, has resigned. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said Jan. 10 that Brown was leaving because of a “difference in philosophy.” Donelon did...

Five Insurance Firms Receive La. Incentive Grants

Jan 14 2008 // Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon handed out grants Jan. 11 to property insurance companies that are receiving a total of $29 million from a state government program aimed at getting more insurers...

Dramatic Changes in State Building Trends Could Prompt Rise in Losses

Jan 13 2008 // As the financial and housing markets continue to work their way through the fallout of the mortgage lending meltdown, the construction sector faces its share of woes. But as is typically the case, specific conditions —...

La. Says Bail Bond Agent Filed False Documents

Jan 11 2008 // The Louisiana Department of Insurance issued a cease and desist order and suspended the license of a Frierson, La., bail bond agent accused of filing false public documents. The department says Brokenberry did not disclose...

State Farm Wants Proof of Occupancy for Hurricane-hit Homes in La.

Jan 9 2008 // State Farm is warning that it will cancel homeowner policies for about 6,000 of its customers in south Louisiana if they aren’t able to demonstrate that their storm-damaged homes are occupied and are being...

Insurance Fraud Expert from La. AG’s Office Picked for Inspector General

Jan 7 2008 // Louisiana’s Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal picked a lawyer in the state attorney general’s office as Louisiana’s new inspector general, a position intended to investigate executive branch fraud and...

Ex-La. Insurance Chief, Others Facing Ethics Charges

Jan 4 2008 // Former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley faces state ethics charges for going on hunting and fishing trips as the guest of a private insurance consultant. The consultant, Chris Faser III, of Baton Rouge, also...

Top Insurance Stories in 2007 in South Central

Dec 31 2007 // Weather, directly or indirectly, was a driving force in the insurance markets for the South Central states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas in 2007. With the exception of Arkansas, throughout the year the South...

Newton Leaving Post at La. Insurance Department

Dec 27 2007 // A top official charged with recruiting insurance companies to Louisiana and helping turn around the troubled state insurer of last resort is leaving his post with the insurance department. Bill Newton, a retired insurance...

Dec 23 2007 // People The Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Co. named Thomas H. Grimstad, M.D., as its new president and chief executive officer. Grimstad will succeed John E. Lemoine, M.D., effective Jan.1, 2008. Since its founding in...

People

Dec 23 2007 // Robert P. Page of Houma, La., was installed as president of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National). Page, co-owner of Charles A. Page and Sons Insurance Agency in Houma, has served on the...