Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is announcing the issuance of
an Emergency Rule which extends protections for policyholders
impacted by the August flooding. The action taken by Commissioner
Donelon was authorized by Governor John Bel Edwards' Executive
Order 2017-11 granting the Commissioner temporary authority to
suspend certain regulatory provisions of the insurance code.
"Emergency Rule 33 provides some essential consumer protections
for insured individuals and business owners in our state who have
been repairing and rebuilding in the aftermath of the August flood,"
said Commissioner Donelon. "This rule comes on the heels of FEMA's
decision to grant my request for an extension to the National Flood
Insurance Program
Proof of Loss deadline until September 1.
The emergency rule and NFIP extension will provide policyholders
with some much-needed flexibility in the recovery process."
Emergency Rule 33 continues the provisions of
previously issued
Emergency Rules 28,
30 and
32 which suspend the ability of insurers to
cancel or terminate policies due to the inability of policyholders
in federal declared disaster areas to comply with certain policy
provisions during the state of emergency. For example, some policies
might require habitation or occupancy of dwellings or similar
provisions that are not reasonably feasible to comply with following
the catastrophic flooding.
The Emergency Rule includes the following provisions for the period August 12, 2016 through August 14, 2017:
- The emergency rule applies to all insurers regarding all types of
homeowners and/or residential property insurance, commercial insurance,
fire and extended coverage insurance, credit property and casualty insurance,
property and casualty insurance and surplus lines insurance.
- The Emergency Rule applies to insureds living in Acadia, Ascension,
Assumption, Avoyelles, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline,
Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee,
St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry,
St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge
and West Feliciana. All of those parishes were included in the federal
disaster declaration following the August 2016 flood events.
To view Emergency Rule 33, please visit the LDI website
www.ldi.la.gov. If
your prpico article1.incloperty is located in one of the parishes indicated,
was affected by the August 2016 flooding and you believe your insurance policy
has been cancelled despite the provisions of Emergency Rules 28, 30, 32 and 33,
please call the LDI at 1-800-259-5300.