NEW ORLEANS —
A third insurance company has asked the Louisiana Department of Insurance to decrease rates for 220,000 customers.
Louisiana Farm Bureau has asked to decrease auto insurance rates. On average, rates could drop by 4.4 percent for some customers. The request follows similar ones from State Farm of 7.7 percent and 2.2 percent for Progressive.
“This reduction, along with those previously taken by State Farm and Progressive, further confirms that automobile insurance competition in Louisiana is moving premiums in the right direction,” Commissioner Jim Donelon said in a prepared statement.
More than 1.5 million customers will see reduced auto insurance rates when the Louisiana Farm Bureau reductions take effect, the Department of Insurance said. The reduced rates for Farm Bureau are expected to be in place on Aug. 1 and will cover new and renewed policies.
Louisiana is among the most expensive states in the country, with an average policy costing $2,000 a year.
While the headline is welcome news for many auto-insurance customers, not everyone will see a drop given the many factors that go into individual policies.
“It varies widely,” Donelon said in an interview with WWL-TV. “And that is the average for all customers statewide.”
Donelon said State Farm likely asked to drop its rates because of sagging business, which led to the others to follow suit.
“It is certainly driven by competition. State Farm started the dominos falling, and I expect them to fall throughout the entire market during the rest of this year,” he said.