Louisiana minimum auto insurance bill stalls

(AP) – A bill that would raise mandatory minimum auto insurance levels stalled in a Senate committee when its chairman declined to break a tie vote.

Louisiana law now requires car and truck owners to have “10-20-10” minimum motor vehicle liability coverage: $10,000 coverage for damage of other people’s property, $20,000 coverage for injury or death to more than one person in an accident and $10,000 coverage for injury or death to one person.

The bill by Rep. Erich Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, would raise that minimum requirement to “25-50-25” and bring the state in line with 33 others, including Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. Ponti has acknowledged the change would lead to a rate increase for about 1 million motorists, but said it could lower rates for those who carry more than the minimum insurance.

The measure hit a wall in the Senate Insurance Committee when Sen. Don Cravins, the chairman, declined to break a 2-2 vote on Wednesday.

“It’s very difficult right now for me to vote for something that will raise people’s rates,” said Cravins, D-Opelousas.

Ponti has said Louisiana’s mandatory minimums are unnaturally low. The rates have been unchanged since the early 1980s, he said.