Election season is upon us and Louisiana is definitely feeling the pressure as they get ready to vote for the insurance commissioner.  Louisiana has struggled with insurance issues for decades, and usually it’s been about homeowners insurance following Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.  This year, Louisiana health insurance and auto insurance are facing serious challenges and the new commissioner, whoever is elected, will have a lot on his plate.

Incumbent Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, James Donelon, has worked on insurance issues for almost 20 years.  He joined the insurance department in 2001 and has been the commissioner since 2006.  His challenger is Donald Hodge, a Baton Rouge public interest attorney who has dedicated much of his career to helping hurricane victims as a social service advocate.  He plans on giving Louisiana residents better access to all kinds of insurance and keep costs down.  There definitely needs to be improvement to regulation and enforcement of laws already in place and both candidates think they can get the job done.

The article on Nola, “Next Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Will Face Battles on 3 Fronts” by Rebecca Mowbray, points out that the winner will truly have his work cut out for him.  The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says that homeowners and auto insurance in Louisiana are among the most expensive in the nation.  Also, the Louisiana health care system is concentrated in too few companies and health care reform is putting much more responsibility on states which the new commissioner will have to deal with.  These are newer challenges that no other commissioner has had to deal with all at once.  Times are tough and residents need help obtaining quality insurance they can afford for the long term.

Written by Sam Tabes

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