Committee advances bill raising uninsured-driver recovery threshold to $100,000 after heated debate

The Senate Committee on Judiciary A voted to report House Bill 4 34 on May 13, 2025, after robust debate over whether raising the minimum recovery threshold for injuries in accidents involving uninsured drivers would lower insurance rates or shift costs onto taxpayers.

Representative Bob DeWitt, the billauthor, told the committee the proposal would raise the limits for recovery for bodily injury and property damage from current statutory minimums to $100,000 for bodily injury and a similar threshold for property damage. "What I'm trying to do is, again, is get those uninsured motorists off the road," DeWitt said.

Supporters included multiple small-business and trucking representatives who said high commercial auto premiums threaten local employers and supply chains. Russell Peroni of Peroni & Sons described paying rising premiums and said a pair of lawsuits could close his 100-year-old family business. Brett Bayard, a commercial carrier owner, showed dash-cam footage of a low-speed crash that later produced a high-dollar settlement and said such suits drive commercial insurance costs.

Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple testified that 11 other states have laws limiting recovery for drivers who do not carry compulsory insurance and argued the measure is one piece of a broader package intended to reduce claim frequency and attract carriers back to Louisiana.

Opponents argued HB 4 34 would leave injured, uninsured drivers with little or no recourse and shift medical costs to Medicaid or employers. Blake David, an attorney and business owner who opposed the bill, warned that private insurers could pocket any savings, rather than lower premiums for Louisianans. "If you pass this law, you are taking money away from people who were hurt through no fault of their own," David said.

Senators pressed the issue of edge cases during the hearing: what happens when a policy lapsed due to a mailed premium not received by an insurer, or when an insured borrower believed a vehicle was covered but a bill had been missed? Representative DeWitt offered an amendment (16-49) to exclude short lapses of 10 days or less when a payment was timely mailed but not received; the amendment was objected to on grounds it could be unenforceable and failed on a roll call.

Debate also centered on whether legislative action would actually lower premiums. Commissioner Temple and supporters said reducing losses should lead to lower rates in a competitive market and pointed to other states' experience; critics said earlier reforms had not produced rate declines and that the bill risks shifting costs to taxpayers.

The committee ultimately voted to report HB 4 34 (committee vote 4-3). The bill will now move to the full Senate with the committeerecommendation.