Gov. John Bel Edwards has issued a call for a special session aimed at addressing what some officials say is an insurance crisis in Louisiana.
The session, which will convene on January 30 and end by February 5, will center on appropriating funds to the Insure Louisiana Incentive Fund, a fund created in the 2022 legislative session with the goal of attracting more insurance companies to Louisiana.
“Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has stressed that funding the Insure Louisiana Incentive Fund cannot wait until the regular session in April. I am grateful for the cooperation of the Senate President and House Speaker and the legislature in calling this special session focused on this Fund," Edwards said in a statement. "While Commissioner Donelon says we must do this now, this is just a first step in addressing Louisiana’s ongoing insurance issues after the devastating hurricane seasons of 2020 and 2021, a crisis worsened by hurricanes and wildfires in other states in 2022. We will continue to work on this issue during the regular session beginning in April.”
Donelon sent a letter to the legislature about the funding; you can read it here.
"I am grateful for Governor Edwards’ decision to call the special session and to the legislature for hearing us out on Friday," Donelon said in a statement. "I look forward to working together to get this program funded and start providing relief for Louisiana policyholders as soon as possible."
The Governor's press release also included statements from the senate president and house speaker:
Senate President Page Cortez said, “Commissioner Donolen has stated that time is of the essence with regard to the legislature’s funding of the incentive program and thus the need to go into a special session. While we understand this will not completely solve the crisis we recognize the urgency.”
House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said, "While a special session to fund the Louisiana Incentive Fund is not going to solve the issue of availability and affordability of property insurance for our citizens, it is a short term band-aid that can be a first step toward a more long term solution. The House will continue to work for a more permanent fix to this situation so that our businesses and property owners don't have to go through this continuous cycle. We have to attract more companies to write policies in our state. We expect that Commissioner Donelon will make the incentive program work as a temporary fix, but we need to do more to solve the problem.”
Read the extraordinary session call—Proclamation Number 7 JBE 2023—by clicking this link.
