Expert tells Senate committee weak regulation, not jury payouts, drives high Louisiana premiums

Jay Angoff, a former deputy insurance commissioner of New Jersey and former insurance commissioner of Missouri, told the Senate Committee on Judiciary A on Feb. 5 that Louisiana's insurance rates appear to be driven more by regulatory limits and insurer pricing practices than by payouts to injured parties.

Angoff summarized national and state data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and told the committee that "insurance is the only industry that's regulated primarily at the state level." He cited 2023 property-casualty industry figures showing large surpluses and strong returns, and said the industry as a whole posted an 8.5% return on surplus and about $87,000,000,000 in net income in 2023.

The issue, Angoff said, is the state's rate-review framework. He told senators Louisiana is an outlier because its commissioner lacks practical authority to disapprove excessive rates. "Louisiana is the outlier with the exception of Illinois," he said, noting Illinois lacks a rating law; he added that in Louisiana the commissioner can find a rate inadequate but can practically never find a rate excessive under current statute.

Why that matters: Angoff pointed to NAIC loss-ratio data showing Louisiana…