The Louisiana Senate has agreed to a bill that would raise auto insurance rates in 2010 for more than one million Louisiana motorists by increasing the minimum liability coverage required for drivers.
Louisiana law requires car and truck owners to have at least “10-20-10” motor vehicle liability coverage: $10,000 coverage for damage of other people’s property, $20,000 for injury or death to more than one person in an accident and $10,000 for injury or death to one person.
The bill would change the levels to “15-30-25” on Jan. 1, 2010.
Supporters said the change would bring Louisiana’s 20-year-old insurance coverage requirement in line with the increased costs involved in accidents, accounting for inflation, the higher prices of new cars and the increased costs of medical care.
Opponents said the bill would raise costs on people who couldn’t afford the increases and would force more people to drop their insurance coverage altogether.
But no one debated the proposal on the Senate floor. It passed in a 33-2 vote with little discussion and is nearing final passage.
Rep. Erich Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, initially proposed a larger increase that was approved by the House, but senators scaled back the proposal and delayed its start date by a year. The measure heads back to the House for approval of those changes.
A similar proposal with a larger increase was vetoed by former Gov. Kathleen Blanco last year. Gov. Bobby Jindal hasn’t taken a position on Ponti’s bill.
On the Net:
House Bill 1312 can be found at http://legis.state.la.us
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