Louisiana Issues Post-Flooding Emergency Insurance Rule

August 19, 2016

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has issued an emergency rule allowing greater protection and flexibility for insurance policyholders impacted by recent flooding.

The emergency rule gives flood-affected policyholders more time to pay insurance premiums.

Executive Order 2016-58, issued by Gov. John Bel Edwards, granted the commissioner temporary authority to implement emergency insurance rules.

“The Emergency Rule will give policyholders who have been displaced from their homes some much needed time to try and begin the process of recovery and avoid being penalized in any way for non-payment of premiums,” Donelon said.

The emergency rule is similar in scope to the rules issued by the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) following Hurricane Gustav in 2008 and Hurricane Isaac in 2012. The rule includes the following provisions for the period Aug. 12, 2016, until Sept. 10, 2016:

  • The emergency rule applies to all types of insurance.
  • Policyholders living in parishes that receive a major disaster declaration from the federal government will receive an extension of time, until Sept. 10, 2016, to pay insurance premiums due on or after Aug. 12, 2016, without any late fees, penalties, cancellation or non-renewal.
  • The emergency rule provides policyholders in affected areas additional time to submit documents to insurers for claims that were filed before the state of emergency but might be difficult for policyholders to send until they can return to their homes and businesses.
  • The emergency rule also suspends the ability of insurers to cancel or terminate policies due to the inability of policyholders in federal declared disaster areas to comply with policy provisions during the state of emergency, for example, some policies might require habitation or occupancy of dwellings or similar provisions that are not reasonably feasible to comply with in this catastrophe.

The emergency rule does not apply to policyholders who live in areas outside of the parishes included in the federal disaster declaration.

Emergency Rule 27 is applicable to insureds from the following parishes: Acadia, Ascension, Avoyelles, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, and West Feliciana, and any other parishes that have been or may be declared a federal disaster area for this historic flood event.

Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance

Related:

Topics Louisiana Flood

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