(The Center Square) — Tort reform is once again at the forefront in Louisiana, where lawmakers are fast-tracking a series of bills they say could rein in high insurance costs — but critics remain skeptical that the changes will deliver real savings.
Six tort-related bills have already cleared committee, including two headline-grabbing measures: one from Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-St. Tammany, and another from Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-East Baton Rouge.
Lawmakers joked about having to choose between “the most important bill” as both advanced on the same day. Glorioso’s bill, House Bill 34, would allow juries to see both the billed and paid amounts for medical treatment in injury lawsuits, aiming to limit inflated awards.
Chenevert’s HB431 would overhaul Louisiana’s legal standard for fault, barring plaintiffs from recovering damages if they are found to be more than 50% at fault in an accident.
“This bill, probably more than any other bill you are going to consider, is a moving factor in evening the playing field and bringing Louisiana premiums down,” said Sidney Degan, an attorney speaking in favor of Chenevert’s bill. “You have to have some bright line… In this bill, it’s 51%. You cross that, you don’t get anything.”
Currently, Louisiana follows a pure comparative fault system, meaning plaintiffs can still collect damages even if they are mostly at fault. Chenevert’s bill would shift to a modified system, which supporters say would discourage excessive lawsuits and lower insurance costs.
But some lawmakers raised concerns about fairness. Rep. Chad Brown, D-Assumption, argued the bill creates a double standard.
“If a plaintiff is 51% at fault, they get nothing,” Brown said. “But if the defendant is 51% at fault, they only pay that amount — and the 49% from the other party is never fairly represented. It’s always overemphasized or described as gross negligence.”
The broader tort reform push is part of a long-running debate over the causes of Louisiana’s high auto and property insurance rates. Supporters say legal system abuse and excessive settlements are a key driver of costs. Critics argue those claims are overblown — and that past reforms haven’t worked.
“Tort reform has never lowered insurance rates for automobiles in Louisiana. Not a single time,” said Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Avoyelles, during a panel discussion hosted by the Public Affairs Research Council in February.
In 2020, lawmakers passed a sweeping tort reform law with the promise of lower premiums. Instead, rates continued to rise — fueled in part by historic hurricane losses and insurer exits from the state.
Even Gov. Jeff Landry, a strong supporter of tort reform, acknowledged the stalemate.
“Year after year, we come here to argue about excessive insurance rates,” Landry said Monday in his opening address to lawmakers. “Year after year, people from both sides show up to gaslight us… We are promised by insurance companies that if we pass this or if we pass that, they will lower rates. It never happens.”
Insurance industry representatives say the earlier reforms didn’t go far enough.
“Previous tort reform measures were a step in the right direction,” Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute, told The Center Square. “But the impacts of the 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons, combined with legal system abuse, have shown that more action is needed.”
The 2020 legislation lowered the jury trial threshold from $50,000 to $10,000, limited medical expense recoveries to amounts paid rather than billed, banned mentioning insurance coverage to juries except in specific cases, and allowed evidence of seat belt non-use to show fault.
“The 2020 bill was very ineffective and not truly ‘tort reform’ despite what it was labeled by lawmakers,” Friedlander continued. “Tort reform measures taken last year have been beneficial to improving the home insurance market but more work needs to be done in this year’s legislative session to address legal system abuse impacting home and auto insurance.”
For now, lawmakers seem eager to keep pushing. Both HB 34 and HB 431 advanced favorably this week — with Glorioso’s bill and Chernevet’s bill both moving to the house floor.
