Louisiana News

FEMA to Waive Katrina Victim Debts

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is implementing a plan to waive debts for thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters. An aide to Sen. Mary Landrieu who has been briefed by FEMA said the agency will mail out …

Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance Adds 4 South Central Agencies

Four South Central independent insurance agencies joined the Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance in January. The new agencies are: Iron Property Insurance Agency of Houston; Parks Agency of Big Spring, Texas; Huckleberry Insurance Agency of West Monroe, La; and Keegan Insurance …

Louisiana AG Recovers $25.2M from Drug Companies Charged with Fraud

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell announced that his office has recovered $25.2 million from five pharmaceutical companies that he sued alleging unlawful inflation of drug costs paid by Louisiana taxpayers through the Medicaid program. The companies — Actavis, Boehringer Ingelheim, …

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Louisiana’s Detlefs Johnson & Partners

Insurance brokerage and risk management services firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired of Detlefs Johnson & Partners located in Baton Rouge, La. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. With operations dating to the 1970s, Detlefs Johnson & …

Officials: Louisiana Man Accused of Setting 12 Fires

Louisiana State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning says a 55-year-old Kaplan man is accused of setting a dozen fires, including one that destroyed the vacant Kaplan Rice Mill. Browning and Kaplan Police Chief Boyd Adams say in a news release …

Louisiana Senator Co-Sponsors Bill to Protect Agent Health Commissions

Two U.S. senators have filed a bill to clarify that agent compensation should be excluded from the federal health reform Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) requirement for the individual and small group markets. Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., chair of the …

No Decision Made on Louisiana Citizens Judgment Appeal

Commissioner Jim Donelon says a decision won’t be made until next week on whether the state’s property insurer of last resort will pursue a U.S. Supreme Court appeal of a $93 million judgment against the company. Donelon said that his …

Louisiana State Police Bust Staged Crash Ring

Louisiana State Police have arrested four people for allegedly staging traffic accidents in Ouachita Parish. Detectives tell The News-Star they looked into six of 20 crashes where individuals filed false bodily injury claims. Trooper says the insurance companies in two …

Another Lawsuit Filed Over ’09 Boat Wreck That Killed 5

The owner of a boat that slammed into a barge at night off the Louisiana coast, killing all five oilfield workers on it, has sued its insurance companies in federal court. Tarpon Rental Inc. says Chartis Specialty Insurance Co. and …

Allstate Wants a Rate Increase in Louisiana

Allstate Corp. is asking to raise rates for 144,000 Louisiana homeowners who get their insurance coverage from two Allstate companies. According to the state insurance department, Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate wants an average 11.3 percent increase for 71,000 homeowners covered by …