IIABL STAFF

JEFF ALBRIGHT

Chief Executive Officer jalbright@iiabl.com (225) 236-1366

BENJAMIN ALBRIGHT

Vice-President of Strategic Initiatives balbright@iiabl.com (225) 236-1357

KATHLEEN O'REGAN

Director of Communications & Events koregan@iiabl.com (225) 236-1360

KAREN KUYLEN

Director of Accounting & Finance kkuylen@iiabl.com (225) 236-1353

RHONDA MARTINEZ

Director of Insurance Programs rmartinez@iiabl.com (225) 236-1352

JAMIE NEWCHURCH

Director of Insurance Programs jnewchurch@iiabl.com (225) 236-1350

LISA YOUNG-CROOKS

Director of Member Relations lyoung@iiabl.com (225) 236-1351

CONTENTS

05

BILLS LIKELY TO BECOME LAW

10 BAD BILLS KILLED 15118TH ANNUAL CONVENTION

18153 E. Petroleum Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70809 Ph: (225) 819-8007

www.iiabl.com TABLE OF CONTENTS & FEATURED STORIES 02 IIABL STAFF

At your service!

18 UPDATED HURRICANE IDA DATA

LDI News Release, April 29, 2022 20 COVID & THE COST OF BUILDING

MATERIALS

Stuart Powell

24 ENHANCING COLLABORATION &

COMMUNICATION

Catalyit Corner, Tip #6 from Steve Anderson 26 THE INSURER OF THE FUTURE

Alan Walker

34 TOP 10 WEBSITE MISTAKES

Trusted Choice

37 FLOOD BARRIER BUSTERS

National Flood Insurance Program 40 PLUG INTO THE POWER OF BIG "I"

MARKETS

IIABL Membership Benefit 42 HOW VACANT IS VACANT?

But What if it's NOT Vacant? By Chris Boggs 44 3 PERSONAL AUTO QUESTIONS

EVERY AGENT MUST KNOW HOW

TO ANSWER

Chris Boggs 48 IIABL EDUCATION UPDATE 50 ADVERTISER INDEX 51 INDUSTRY PARTNERS 52 IIABL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

By: Jeff Albright & Ben Albright

This has been the most difficult legislative session for the insurance industry in anyone’s memory. The industry has been under attack on a daily basis as legislators reflect the frustration and anger of their constituents over the slow and difficult resolution of claims from the four hurricanes over the past two years. IIABL set a new legislative session record, following 207 bills in the Louisiana Legislature this year.

IIABL has deployed a two-part strategy to deal with the onslaught of bad insurance legislation.

The first strategy has been to support reasonable insurance reforms in recognition of the real problems that policyholder faced in the catastrophe claims settlement process.

The second strategy is to educate legislators about the catastrophically difficult insurance markets in Louisiana at this time, and to urge them not to destroy our market with unreasonable legislative penalties on insurance companies.

Our strategy has worked remarkably well. As the session starts to wind down, we are pleased to report that most of the legislation that is likely to pass are bills that IIABL supports. Very few bills that IIABL opposed are likely to become law.

To be clear...insurance companies will not like some of the reforms passed by the legislature, but the truly awful bills have been killed or amended to make them reasonable.

IIABL Supports

HB 317 (Matthew Willard) – Requires a signed disclosure form for wind deductibles. As originally filed, HB 317 and SB 150 made the disclosure part of the policy and was a E&O minefield for agents. Rep Willard accepted all IIABL amendments to protect agents and is now a simple signed disclosure.

HB 317 has passed the legislature.

HB 521 (Mike Huval) – Requires insurers to have catastrophe response plans. IIABL asked Chairman Huval to file HB 521 to ensure that insurers have detailed catastrophe claims response plans in place before hurricane season.

HB 521 has been sent to the Governor.

HB 539 (Gabe Firment) – Building contractor reforms. HB 539 limits how contractors engage in the insurance adjustment and claim payment process.

HB 539 is on the Senate floor.

HB 558 (Matthew Willard) – Requires insurers to provide breakdown of claim payment by type of coverage under the insurance policy. IIABL opposed the bill as originally filed. HB 558 would have required all cat claims be paid within 90days. IIABL worked with Rep Willard to replace the original language with language which requires claim payments to distinguish payment of different coverages, so that policyholders can claim their personal property and ALE payments.

HB 558 is on the Senate floor.

HB 612 (Mike Huval) – Establishes the Fortified Homes Program, which will pay grants to homeowner’s who retrofit their homes to comply with the Fortified Home standards. HB 612 is in the Senate Finance Committee.

HB 682 (Chad Brown) – SB 330 (Jeremy Stine) –Creates a LDI claims adjuster database which allows policyholders to obtain background information about adjusters.

HB 682 is on the House floor for concurrence with Senate amendments. SB 330 is in the Senate Finance Committee.

HB 831 (Gabe Firment) – Requires insurers to pay an advance on ALE coverage of at least 3 months in the event of a total loss.

HB 831 is on the Senate floor.

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C o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 5 HB 866 (Larry Frieman) – SB 264 (Joseph Bouie) – Increases insurer minimum capital requirements from $3M to $10M.

HB 866 has become Act 60. SB 264 has become Act 69.

HB 870 (Jeremy Lacombe) – SB 117 (Jay Luneau) – Requires coverage for temporary use of vehicles not owned by the insured. These bills overturn the recent Landry v. Progressive Louisiana Supreme Court case which allowed insurers to limit nonowned auto coverage.

HB 870 has become Act 93. SB 117 has been sent to the Governor.

HB 936 (Mike Huval) – Requires insurers to adjust claims within certain time limits. The bill is based on a similar statute in Texas and is designed to keep catastrophe claims moving through the process in appropriate time frames.

HB 936 is on the Senate floor.

HB 999 (Gabe Firment) – Expands regulation of public adjusters and establishes standards of care and performance. HB 999 is on the Senate floor.

HB 1064 (Les Farnum) – Prescribes how mortgage holders must pay insurance claim proceeds to policyholders in an effort to make it easier for policyholders to receive funds. HB 1064 is on the House floor for concurrence with Senate amendments.

SB 163 (Kirk Talbot) – Requires insurers to provide policyholders with a catastrophe claims process disclosure at the time of a claim. SB 163 was introduced at the request of IIABL to provide valuable claim information to policyholders at the time of the claim. SB 163 has been sent to the Governor.

SB 198 (Kirk Talbot) – Requires insurers to provide a claims summary, contact person, and additional information if more than 3 adjusters have been assigned to a claim. This bill will help solve the “ adjuster churn” problems experienced by policyholders. SB 198 has been sent to the Governor.

SB 209 (Jeremy Stine) – Doubles the maximum fine the Commissioner can levy against insurers from $250,000 to $500,000. Stronger regulatory penalties are much preferred to increase bad faith damages which will generate more litigation against insurers. SB 209 is on the House floor.

SB 212 (Jeremy Stine) – Establishes the Hurricane Mediation Program. SB 212 is on the House floor.

SB 412 (Kirk Talbot) – Establishes the Insure Louisiana Incentive Program to provide financial incentives for insurers to write more property insurance in Louisiana. It is unclear whether the Legislature will fund this program. SB 412 is on the House floor. SB 446 (Fred Mills) – Prescribes how mortgage holders must pay insurance claim proceeds to policyholders in an effort to make it easier for policyholders to receive funds. SB 446 is on the House floor.

IIABL is Neutral

HB 83 (Laurie Schlegel) – SB 134 (Kirk Talbot) –Statutorily expands the trigger for Civil Authority ALE coverage following a catastrophe on residential property insurance policies. This will benefit policyholders, but it very troubling to see the Legislature statutorily expand contract language, so IIABL has remained neutral. HB 83 is on the Senate floor. SB 134 is on the House floor.

IIABL Opposes

SB 186 (Cameron Henry) – Allows public adjusters to charge 10% fee. We expect this bill to be amended on the House floor to eliminate most or all of our objections to SB 186. SB 186 is on the House floor.

SB 214 (Jay Luneau) – Requires Louisiana venue for out-of-state claims adjusters. SB 214 is on the House floor.

By: Jeff Albright & Ben Albright

This has been a difficult legislative session for the insurance industry. The industry has been under attack on a daily basis as legislators reflect the frustration and anger of their constituents over the slow and difficult resolution of claims from the four hurricanes over the past two years.

IIABL normally has 8-12 really dangerous bills to deal with in a normal legislative session. This year there were more than 40 bills that could have caused significant problems for the insurance industry.

Part of our strategy has been to educate legislators about the catastrophically difficult insurance markets in Louisiana at this time, and to urge them not to further destroy our market with unreasonable legislative penalties on insurance companies. Our busted tort liability system is a problem for insurers in casualty lines because of the frequency and severity of judgements, particularly in automobile insurance. In the wake of the 2020-2021 hurricanes, insurers are also facing litigation and bad faith penalties on property insurance claims. Insurers have gone insolvent, stopped writing new business, nonrenewed policies, and pulled out of the state, leaving Louisiana without the necessary market capacity and resulting in severe problems with availability and affordability of coverage.

We are pleased to report that, working with others in the industry, we have been able to kill or amend most of the bills that would have caused significant damage. It is important to note that killing bad bills is the most important part of the legislative process.

Bad Bills Amended to Be Reasonable

HB 317 (Matthew Willard) – Requires a signed disclosure form for wind deductibles. As originally filed, HB 317 and SB 150 made the disclosure part of the policy and was a E&O minefield for agents. Rep Willard accepted all IIABL amendments to protect agents and is now a simple signed disclosure. HB 317 is on the House floor.

HB 539 (Gabe Firment) – As originally filed, HB 539 had statutory matching provisions strongly opposed by insurance companies. Rep. Firment agreed to remove these provisions, leaving very positive building contractor reforms. HB 539 limits how contractors engage in the insurance adjustment and claim payment process. HB 539 is on the House floor.

HB 558 (Matthew Willard) – Requires insurers to provide breakdown of claim payment by type of coverage under the insurance policy. IIABL opposed the bill as originally filed. HB 558 would have required all cat claims be paid within 90days. IIABL worked with Rep Willard to replace the original language with language which requires claim payments to distinguish payment of different coverages, so that policyholders can claim their personal property and ALE payments. HB 558 is on the House floor.

HB 935 (Delisha Boyd) – As originally filed, HB 935 would have required all claims to be reviewed by Louisiana licensed adjusters. There are not enough Louisiana licensed adjusters to handle

large catastrophes.The bill was amended to simply require LDI to provide a Louisiana education process for out of state catastrophe claims adjusters. HB 935 is on the House floor.

SB 105 (Mike Fesi) – Requires all insurers (including surplus lines insurers) to provide 30days written notice of policy renewal terms. SB 105 was brought by LDI at the request of IIABL. Insurance companies HATED SB 105. Given how fragile the Louisiana insurance market is at this time, Senator Fesi decided to turn the bill into SR 90 (Mike Fesi) – LDI study on insurance policy renewal notifications. SR 90 passed the Senate.

SB 162 (Kirk Talbot) – Prohibits insurers from nonrenewing storm damaged property until repairs can be made. SB 162 was introduced at IIABL’s request. The bill received national and international outrage by insurers. Given how fragile the Louisiana insurance market is at this time, Senator Talbot decided to turn the bill into SR 99 (Kirk Talbot) – LDI study on nonrenewal of storm damaged properties. SR 99 passed the Senate.

SB 209 (Jeremy Stine) – SB 209 doubles the maximum fine the Commissioner can levy against insurers from $250,000 to $500,000. Although insurers don’t love higher penalties, these stronger regulatory penalties are much preferred to increased bad faith damages which will generate more litigation against insurers. SB 209 is on the House floor.

IIABL was Neutral

HB 83 (Laurie Schlegel) – SB 134 (Kirk Talbot) –Statutorily expands the trigger for Civil Authority ALE coverage following a catastrophe on residential property insurance policies. This will benefit policyholders, but it very troubling to see the Legislature statutorily expand contract language, so IIABL has remained neutral. HB 83 is on the Senate floor. SB 134 is on the House floor.

IIABL Opposed

HB 87/HB 931 (Gabe Firment) – Statutory mandate to, in the case of a total loss, pay a percentage of personal property insurance limit as an advance without any proof of loss. Rep Firment did not move either bill after discussing the objections of the insurance industry.

HB 109 (Kyle Green) – Extends prescription from 1 year to 2 years. HB 109 was never heard in the face of industry objections.

HB 116 (Robby Carter) – Excludes insurer advertising expenses in rates. HB 116 failed to pass the House Insurance Committee.

HB 220 (Kyle Green) – Disclosure of auto liability coverage limits to third party claimants.

HB 220 was never heard in the face of industry objections.

HB 268 (Tanner Magee) – Mandates payment of all claims within 60 days of first inspection. HB 268 was never heard in the face of industry objections.

HB 290 (Robby Carter) – Mandatory 5% discount for dash cameras. HB 290 failed to pass the House Insurance Committee.

HB 316 (Matthew Willard) – SB 331 (Jeremy Stine) - Transmission of all claim documents from insurers to insureds within 30 days. HB 316 failed to pass the House floor. SB 331 was heard by Senate Insurance Committee and deferred.

LOUISIANAAGENT C o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1 1 HB 351 (Edmond Jordan) – Prohibits use of credit scoring in the rating of auto underwriting. HB 351 failed to pass the House Insurance Committee.

HB 881 (Ryan Bourriaque) – HB 991 (Mandie Landry) – Bad faith penalties for LIGA. HB 881 failed to pass the House Insurance Committee. HB 991 was never heard in the face of industry objections.

HB 951 (Edmond Jordan) – Mandates uninsured motorists coverage and removes the option to select lower limits or exclude UM coverage. HB 951 is stuck on the House floor because it does not have the votes to pass.

HB 976 (Ed Larvadain) – Increases bad faith claims against insurers up to 200%. HB 976 was never heard in the face of industry objections.

HB 1037 (Mandie Landry) – SB 238 (Cleo Fields) Limits noncompete agreements. Neither bill has been heard.

SB 13 (Joseph Bouie) – SB 345 (Gary Smith) –Limits insurers to 3 adjusters on a single claim. SB 13 was heard by Senate Insurance Committee and deferred. SB 345 was never heard in the face of industry objections.

SB 130 (Patrick Connick) – SB 149 (Kirk Talbot) –Extends prescription from 1 year to 2 years. SB 130 failed to pass the House Civil Law Committee. SB 149 was deferred in the House Civil Law Committee.

SB 150 (Jay Luneau) – Requires a signed disclosure for wind deductibles which becomes part of the policy (similar to UM selection form). SB 150 failed to pass the House Civil Law Committee.

SB 186 (Cameron Henry) – Allows public adjusters to charge 10% fee. We expect this bill to be amended on the House floor to eliminate most or all of our objections to SB 186.

SB 208 (Jeremy Stine) – Increases bad faith claims against insurers up to 150%. SB 208 was deferred in the Senate Insurance Committee.

SB 214 (Jay Luneau) – Requires Louisiana venue for out-of-state claims adjusters. SB 214 is on the House floor.

SB 231 (Cameron Henry) – Statutorily defines “ uninhabitable” for ALE coverage to include loss of utilities. SB 231 was never heard in the face of industry objections. SB 243 (Bret Allain) – Limits the process for LA Citizens takeout. SB 243 was never heard in the face of industry objections.

SB 253 (Regina Barrow) – Unfair trade practice if insurer takes advantage of senior of special needs person. SB 253 was never heard in the face of industry objections.

SB 301 (Regina Barrow) – Requires insurers to pay public adjuster fees. SB 301 was never heard in the face of industry objections.

SB 484 (Jay Luneau) – Prohibits surplus lines insurers from including venue provisions in their policies. SB 484 failed to pass the House Civil Law Committee.

I I A B L 1 1 8 T H

A L U N A N T I O N V E N C O N

The 118th IIABL Convention & Exhibition will be held at the Hilton Sandestin Beach June 12-15, 2022.

“Together Again” will celebrate gathering after two years of isolation with Covid.

The convention kicks off on Sunday with the Welcome Reception & Exhibit Exposition where attendees will enjoy food & drinks while visiting with our exhibitors. A great way to start off a great convention!

Monday morning is the Opening Business Session where IIABL President, Don Stiel, will kick off the IIABL Annual Convention with the Installation of the IIABL Officers & Directors. We will also honor our Past Presidents: Brenda Case and Joey O’Connor. Steve Anderson with Catalyit will present Technology Solutions for Agents where he will share first-hand observations on the impact of technology on an agency ’s value, operation, and culture. Plenty of great ideas to implement in your agency! Never Give Up. Never Quit is an inspirational story of Travis Mills who was critically injured in 2012 on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan losing portions of both legs and both arms. His larger-than-life personality, sense of humor, and incredible spirit for life will engage you as soon as he takes the stage and will inspire you to “Never Give Up. Never Quit” no matter the obstacles or circumstances.

Monday afternoon is the CE Seminar “Have a Plan: What is a perpetuation plan and why is it important?” Where should agents start when building the agency ’s perpetuation plan? Carey Wallace with Agency ’s Focus, LLC, is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor and will help agents start developing their own perpetuation plans and answer your questions!

Monday afternoon everyone will enjoy frozen drink treats…frozen concoctions poolside with adult & kid-friendly varieties, and the Sunset Cocktail Reception poolside.

Monday night is MoJEAUX Monday our Dancing & Desserts party! New Orleans’ premiere party band, MoJEAUX, has a play list that is sure to excite attendees and get everyone on the dance floor! Complete with drinks and desserts, your night is sure to end on a sweet high note!

Tuesday is fun day! The IIABL Convention Golf Tournament will take place at the Raven Golf Club at Sandestin. Voted one of the “Best Courses You Can Play Golf” by Golf Week Magazine in 2014, the Raven Golf Club is a natural wonder that preserves drama and strategy on every tee. Prizes will be awarded after the tournament.

For the more studious agents, there will be a CE Seminar, “The Data-Driven Agency. ” There is no question that our industry is changing at a record pace. What is your agency doing to evolve and change with it? Carey Wallace will explore how other industries as well as some agencies have evolved given the rapid change we face in all aspects of our lives. Data, technology, and relationships are the key to the agencies of today and tomorrow!

Tuesday afternoon is the IIABL Beach Tailgate with beach setups, Bocce Ball, Corn Hole, Ladder Ball, Music, along with the Ice Cream & Beer Party served poolside to enhance pool activities.

Tuesday night is the extra special convention event…IIABL Casino Night! IIABL is celebrating being “Together Again” with a special party this year and we are rolling out the red carpet! Attendees will be welcomed by casino “ show girls” and receive “funny money ” that you can use to play real casino games that will be set up in the ballroom. We will have a delicious spread of food & beverages, a DJ playing your favorite tunes, and a photobooth to capture your favorite party pics throughout the night. As Casino night ends, winnings will be turned in for raffle tickets to win exciting prizes!

The convention will close on Wednesday with the Closing Business Session. Insurance Commissioner, Jim Donelon will talk about the state of the Louisiana insurance industry and the legislative session. There will be an update on the IIABA Top Initiatives from IIABA Chairman Elect, John Costello. President, Don Stiel, will officially pass the gavel to Incoming President, Michael Scriber as they both give their addresses. The session will end with an IIABL Legislative Update from our Jeff Albright & Ben Albright.

LOUISIANAAGENT