Reverend Monsignor Emile J. Fossier
June 25, 2007U.S. weekly oil and gas rig count down by 2
June 27, 2007Senate Bill 153 drew nearer to Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s desk.
The bill, which is authored by Sen. Reggie P. Dupre, D-Houma, would attempt to reduce the number of the Louisiana Citizens Insurance policies in the state by trying to sell them off to private insurance companies in bundles of no less than 500 policies.
The companies would, of course, bid on these bundles.
The bill passed the House 103 to 0 last Thursday. Blanco and her office also support the bill.
A hiccup for Dupre’s bill came when Sen. Senator James David Cain, R-Dry Creek, amended the bill in a peculiar way.
The amendment would make it so Dupre’s bill would only be enacted if Cain’s Senate Bill 195 fails to work.
Cain’s bill would give private insurance companies a crack at buying out all of the 130,000 or so Citizens Insurance policies in the state.
Dupre said Cain wants to get the state out of the insurance business and he agrees with this.
“I agree. We need to try to get the state out of the insurance business, but practically speaking it’s going to be difficult to do it because I don’t know who’s going to want to take the high risk areas,” he said.
At press time Monday, Durpe said the House voted to strip this amendment from the bill and that Blanco’s office wanted him to offer a motion concurring with the House. Cain could object to such a move.
“Citizens was originally created for the residual high risk market. So, if someone’s willing to take the whole residual market in the state and give us a several year guarantee they will keep these people covered, well then, certainly it’s worth doing, but I don’t know who would want to do that,” said Dupre. “Even the larger companies are not writing new policies in the less risky areas, the more suburban style areas in Thibodaux and Houma.”
Dupre thinks his bill is more practical than Cain’s, and puts forth that even if the state were to reduce the number of homes on Citizens Insurance by 10,000 over the next year, the state would be in a little bit less risky situation.
“I understand the bundling bill – my bill – requires the companies cannot cherry pick. You can’t go and pick the 500 least risky policies. It’s going to require it be done in different areas of the state,” said Dupre.
