Jeremy Alford: Policy trumps politics in insurance commissioner's race

If the election for insurance commissioner were held today, the likely winner would be Tim Temple, a Republican and well-known industry executive from Baton Rouge.

Since Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced in March he would not seek re-election, Temple has been the unmissable frontrunner in this down-ballot race.

Voters and donors already know his name. Temple lost to Donelon by just 82,000 votes in 2019 and now he’s sitting on a campaign war chest that has more than $2 million.

So far no serious contenders have surfaced to challenge Temple’s frontrunner status, which gives the candidate the luxury of focusing on policy rather than politics — for now.

In an interview with www.LaPoliticsWeekly.com last week, Temple said if he’s elected, he will immediately appeal to the governor and Legislature to call a special session in January to tackle a handful of weighty insurance issues.

"Even if we don’t have another hurricane this year, the entire marketplace — whether it’s auto, homeowners or commercial trucking — will be worse in January than it is today," Temple said. "We’re going to be in crisis mode and you can already see it coming."

Temple said the agenda for such a special session would be drafted during the transition period between the fall elections and January’s oath of office. There are two common themes, however, that Temple continues to hear about on the campaign trail and in boardrooms: "affordability and availability."

"I think we really blew it with the special session we had earlier this year," Temple said. "As far as I know, that was the first time in modern history a special session was called to deal exclusively with insurance issues and nothing else. All we did was dust off a 15-year old plan and decide to do it again. We didn’t address any of the root problems."

During that special session, the Legislature and administration agreed on a $45 million incentive fund requested by Donelon to help lure more companies to Louisiana to write homeowners coverage. We’re still waiting to learn just how effective the entirety of the program has been.

Lawmakers got another bite at the policy apple during their recent regular session, but they failed to deliver anything of substance for the families across the state still reeling from storms and flooding.

That said, there’s an appetite to do something on these insurance issues as soon as possible. Speaker Pro Tem Tanner Magee, a Republican who represents flood-prone Terrebonne Parish, described the regular session as a missed opportunity.

“We did almost nothing for the consumer,” said Magee. “It’s sad and frustrating.”

Temple hopes to build off of that sentiment as he refines his policy agenda, which won’t be confined to the halls of the House and Senate.

A DeRidder native who runs Temptan, a family-owned business, Temple said he would also act on day one as commissioner to remove some administrative rules that are holding the industry back.

"In other states, insurance companies aren’t prohibited from free market movement," said Temple. "They can ask for rate changes if they’re justified and actuarially sound and not discriminatory. The current commissioner here only allows that every 12 months. That desk rule makes us unattractive as a state."

Temple’s early agenda, if he’s elected, would rely heavily on the above-mentioned transition period.

"The type of people I would want to be a part of that team are folks who are looking to be bold and transformative," he said. "I think that’s what it’s going to take. I really feel if I’m elected that Louisiana could have an insurance renaissance.”

While Temple is already announced and running strong, state Rep. Edmond Jordan, a Democrat from Brusly, said he’ll make a final decision on the race soon. Jordan is currently the chair of the Financial Services and Multi-Lines Issues Committee for the National Council of Insurance Legislators.

At one point last year, former state Sen. Ryan Gatti, a Republican from Bossier City, was being encouraged to run. An attorney of 23 years, Gatti is a former workers comp judge and the one-time vice chair of the Senate Insurance Committee.

There have also been some thoughts that a candidate could emerge from Donelon’s department — someone like Ron Henderson, Donelon’s deputy commissioner of consumer advocacy. But much like Jordan and Gatti and anyone else looking at this election, Henderson hasn’t made any big moves.

With roughly 40 days to go until the Aug. 8-10 candidate qualifying period, that leaves Temple in a unique position to focus on policy rather than politics. Whether that luxury will continue is the most important question in this race.

For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @ LaPoliticsNow.