Louisiana Auto Insurance Goes Up

A new bill that is sitting in the House would raise auto insurance premiums for those that have coverage. Senate Bill 223 will increase the amount of money that motorists will have to spend on their auto insurance, by increasing their liability insurance amounts.

Currently, state law says that motorists have to cover $10,000 for property damage to others, $20,000 for everyone hurt in the accident, and $10,000 for each person killed or injured. It is called 10-20-10 coverage.

However, under the new bill, it would be changed to 25-50-25 for the same coverages - $25,000, $50,000, and $25,000 respectively. They say it is necessary to change the amounts because the rates were previously set more than 20 years ago, and average new cars cost more than that now to replace. The average was $10,606 – now it is $21,597.

They say it will benefit those that carry auto insurance and are hit by someone who either does not have enough car insurance or hasn’t any at all. They say they will no longer have to come out of their pocket to pay for the damages someone else caused. They say it should increase the average motorist’s coverage by around $12.00.

Critics say that the new law will only make it harder for those that don’t have auto insurance to get it. They say that if they cannot afford it now, making it more expensive puts it just that much more out of reach. They say that since their auto insurance rates are already some of the highest in the nation, adding this change will just make it that much worse.

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