PIA Legislative Update
After being two votes shy of killing HB 137 on the House Floor
week before last, it passed out of the Senate Insurance Committee
last week and then on the Senate Floor yesterday. Unfortunately,
we were unsuccessful in getting either of the two amendments below
that we were trying to add to the bill:
Amendment 1
On page 2, add line 9 and insert, "Fees, in lieu of commission, shall be
refundable to the insured at the same percentage as returned premium, if the
insured cancels the policy during any time within the policy period. This shall
not include agency fees as outlined in LSA-R.S. 22:855 (B)(2)(a)."
Amendment 2
On page 2, add line 9, insert, "Fees, in lieu of commission, shall be no more
than the amount of what the commission would have been, if commission would
have been paid, for the period of the contract of insurance."
The proponents of this bill lobbied very hard to make sure these consumer-friendly
amendments were not added to the bill in fear of it going back to the House side. We are
disappointed that we were not able to kill this legislation, which is not good for our
industry. You have our commitment that we will now work with the Department of Insurance
in the implementation process of the legislation to protect our agency members to the
best of our ability.
We appreciate all of you that contacted your legislators to vote NO to this bill as well
as Senate version of this legislation (SB 96).