News Briefs

Louisiana

Gov. Urged to Veto Flooded Vehicles Bill

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of Amer-ica called upon Louisiana Gov. Kath-leen Blanco to veto a bill that would require all vehicles that are declared “total” losses as a result of recent flooding to be crushed.

In a letter to Gov. Blanco, Greg LaCost, assistant vice president, regional manager and counsel, stated, “While PCI favors removing contaminated vehicles from the roads following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, House Bill 11 is overly burdensome by not limiting itself to vehicles that are dangerous to the public.”

He said HB 11 would require insurers to take an older model vehicle away from consumers even if they want to repair it. The insurer would then pay the total figure less the deductible. The consumer will be forced to buy a new vehicle in an auto market where there will be a drastic decline in used vehicles. If the governor vetoes the bill, consumers may be able to keep the vehicle, but the car would have to be branded “flooded salvage.”

While the governor had not addressed HB 11 at press time, the following are among the bills passed in the special legislative session that have been signed into law:

House Bills

HB-4: Authorizes any clerk of court to establish an ancillary office during a state of emergency; HB-6: Extends time limit for certain investment deadlines under the CAPCO program due to the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; HB-7: Provides relative to payment of certain expenses related to the legislative offices of certain temporarily displaced legislators; HB-8: Provides relative to oyster lease renewals in 2006; HB-9: Requires elected officials and appointed state officials to disclose information regarding certain contracts and subcontracts; HB-24: Increases deduction from state income taxes for federal income taxes paid by the amount of presidential disaster area relief credits; HB-35: Provides for a change of the time and date when the assessor of Orleans Parish has to complete the work on preparing and making up the assessment lists for the year 2006; HB-41: Provides for the computation of borrowed capital by corporations affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita which have incurred extraordinary debt; HB-44: Provides with respect to the deferment of tax payments where property subject to ad valorem taxation has been damaged during a gubernatorially declared disaster or emergency; HB-46: Provides for the continuation of the homestead exemption and special assessments when property is damaged due to a gubernatorially declared disaster or emergency; HB-135: Provides relative to the emergency powers of the commissioner of the Office of Financial Institutions relative to nondepository institutions; and HB-140: Provides relative to the balance in the Budget Stabilization Fund.

Senate Bills

SB-1: Provides for registration of sex offenders in emergency housing, enhances penalties for failure to register, and requires re-registration under certain circumstances; SB-10: Provides for unemployment compensation benefits; and SB-44: Establishes a state uniform construction code.

Texas

IIAT Survey Shows Improvements Independent insurance agents in Texas report improved homeowners insurance coverage and lower premium prices for both homeowners and auto insurance as the year comes to an end. A survey of more than 1,800 member agencies by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas found that nearly half of agents surveyed are reporting broader homeowners insurance coverage among standard carriers. A similar percentage report lower average premium prices.

“The results show a continuing trend that we discovered in a similar
survey conducted among members last year,” said Randy Reynolds, IIAT president. “Our results also show that auto policy premiums are down on average compared to a year ago. The results tell me that competition in the marketplace is keen and good for the consumer.”

Nearly 60 percent of independent agencies surveyed report that homeowners insurance coverage written by standard carriers has improved in the last year. During 2005, some 65 percent of agencies offered broader coverage than was available barely two years ago. Broader coverage typically costs more, but for 2005 the survey shows that average pricing for homeowners insurance is lower than a year ago.

Perhaps most significantly, agents reported more companies wanting to write personal lines insurance in Texas. More than 60 percent reported an increase in the number of companies they could represent this year. Almost 48 percent of agencies surveyed say homeowners prices have dropped in the last year by an average of 10 percent among companies represented by independent agencies. A fourth of those surveyed report no significant changes in pricing this year compared to last.