One of the legal guidelines just lately handed by the Louisiana Legislature and signed into regulation by Governor John Bell Edwards is Senate Bill 106, which went into impact on August 1, 2023.
SB 106 provides a brand new part to the Louisiana Policyholder Bill of Rights, contained in La. R.S. 22:41, requiring insurers to:
[M]ake obtainable upon the written request of an insured any portion of the declare file, together with however not restricted to estimates, bids, plans, measurements, drawings, engineer reviews, contractor reviews, statements, pictures, video recordings, or another paperwork or communications until the file is legally privileged that the insurer ready, had ready, or used throughout its adjustment of the insured’s declare.1
The regulation does add one exception within the case of fraud investigations:
An insurer could hold confidential any adjuster notes, logs, and another paperwork or communications ready together with a fraud investigation.2
As we beforehand mentioned, SB 106 unanimously handed in either side of the Louisiana Legislature with full bipartisan help as a commonsense measure to make sure that policyholders are in possession of the identical paperwork their insurers use to judge their claims. Although a seemingly easy requirement, this alteration within the regulation clarifies that insurers should flip in the whole declare file upon written request.
When we ship a letter of illustration to an insurance coverage firm requesting the whole declare file, the insurance coverage firm representatives will generally solely launch sure paperwork, such because the licensed coverage, fee sheets, and a few estimates. We should request sure paperwork individually, they usually magically hold developing with new paperwork not beforehand disclosed. However, after submitting a lawsuit, the whole declare file is discoverable, and a number of case administration orders for Louisiana hurricane litigation require the disclosure of the whole declare file, together with claims notes. These claims notes can usually reveal the place a declare went mistaken and what must be carried out to resolve it.
SB 106 thus assists policyholders and their advocates even the enjoying area, disallowing an insurer from probably concealing unfavorable info in its claims notes till submitting a lawsuit. In requiring extra full disclosure from the insurer, SB 106 ought to facilitate higher claims dealing with practices and extra environment friendly communications.
Anyone sending a letter of illustration to an insurance coverage firm from this level ahead ought to take into account citing La. R.S. 22:41(p) as authorized authority and request the whole declare file. Although the Louisiana Policyholder Bill of Rights, by its personal language, is informative and doesn’t present a separate explanation for motion for violations of its provisions, failure to show over the declare file (within the absence of a reputable fraud investigation) and abide by the adjustments from SB 106 ought to lead to better scrutiny when analyzing associated points, like breach of contract and dangerous religion claims dealing with.
Remember, the Hurricane Ida Deadline is August 29—The End Is Now! Open Hurricane Ida claims should be within the palms of an legal professional and a lawsuit filed now earlier than it’s too late.
Quote of the day:
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—Charles de Gaulle
2 Id.