Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon won’t seek re-election

Amid a historic disaster in Louisiana’s residence insurance plan marketplace, Coverage Commissioner Jim Donelon stated Tuesday morning that he will not look for re-election to a fifth entire term this tumble.

The surprise announcement will come as Donelon, a Republican from Metairie, tries to type out a around-collapse of Louisiana’s residence coverage sector. Due to the fact 2020’s Hurricane Laura, a dozen insurers writing business in the state have unsuccessful, and extra than a dozen other people have stopped composing small business.

The consequence has been that the range of policyholders covered by Louisiana Citizens Property Coverage Corp., the state’s insurance company of final resort, has additional than tripled.

In hopes of minimizing Citizens’ rolls, Donelon has revived a program he applied following Hurricane Katrina to give point out grants to incentivize coverage organizations to get started writing company in the condition. He was updating the general public on that system when he announced his impending retirement Tuesday.

Donelon mentioned his age and the needs of responding to the insurance plan crisis in anticipation of the upcoming session were the two aspects in his selection not to operate.

At 78, Donelon is the longest-serving commissioner to keep the place that has been tainted by scandal 3 of his predecessors had been convicted and served time in federal prison.

“One issue that did play a factor is a condition campaign requires a great deal of time, and I have not experienced any time because late very last yr to place toward my re-election effort and hard work,” Donelon claimed Tuesday.

Donelon stated he very last held a fundraiser in advance of the vacations in Baton Rouge.

“And since then I haven’t been able to carry a finger toward my re-election marketing campaign simply because of the time that this disaster has demanded of me and my staff members,” he claimed.

Soon after Gov. John Bel Edwards convened a unique session in February, the Legislature agreed — at Donelon’s request — to renew the incentive grant system, supplying up to $45 million that would go to firms that publish new coverage insurance policies below.

Donelon’s announcement will possible drum up additional fascination in the race for coverage commissioner — which, however usually a sleepy affair, was certain to entice additional voter notice this 12 months since of the grim condition of Louisiana’s coverage marketplace.

So considerably, only one particular candidate has introduced a obstacle to Donelon: Tim Temple, a Baton Rouge Republican who ran in opposition to Donelon 4 a long time back. In that race, Temple, an coverage govt, used $2 million of his possess funds and finished with 47{a652ac39cb023ff8fd1cc85f4393f5b1bb70bf2f880b7bee35f712e4bd8633f7} of the vote.

State Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, who has supported Donelon’s incentive program as chair of the Senate Insurance coverage Committee, reported he is not interested in operating to substitute him. Talbot explained in an job interview Tuesday that he’s looking for reelection for his seat in the senate.

Donelon’s exit will finish a political job that spanned five many years. It was marked by periodic upsets as he sought to develop into a district legal professional, lieutenant governor and congressman.

He entered politics as executive counsel in the administration of former Gov. Edwin Edwards until finally 1975 when he was elected to the Jefferson Parish Council, the place he served for four years.

In 1982, Donelon gained a exclusive election to the condition Dwelling wherever he served for approximately two many years. His increase to become the state’s top rated insurance plan regulator came in the aftermath of yet another crisis: Hurricane Katrina.

Donelon generally talks about the amazing exertion it took to pull the state’s assets insurance industry back from the brink after the costliest catastrophe in U.S. record. With the assist of previous Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Donelon confident Wall Road bankers to personal loan the state’s community insurance provider approximately $1 billion bucks to fork out claims. Taxpayers will be shelling out that personal debt off right up until 2026.

Donelon credited the insurance policy incentive application rolled out after Katrina with helping to resuscitate curiosity in the state’s market. Following a playbook deployed in Florida, Donelon encouraged a range of regional insurers that primarily function in the Southeast to come to the condition. For a time, insurance policy prices fell mainly because of the increased competition.

But the relative calm was shorter-lived. The 4 hurricanes that made landfall in the point out in 2020 and 2021 thrust the coverage market place into one more disaster and uncovered shortcomings in Donelon’s oversight of the field.

More than far more than a ten years, the condition-operated a takeout software that authorized coverage corporations to think dangerous procedures held by Citizens. Lots of of the insurers that took the most procedures over a 13-year period did not have the minimum rating necessary by condition regulation but were authorized to take part anyhow. Four of the providers that took on the most policies wound up collapsing.

Donelon has blamed the administrators of the unsuccessful insurance plan organizations for not obtaining more than enough reinsurance to backstop any catastrophic losses. But the insurance policies division, under his leadership, did not detect those people troubles until it was much too late.

In announcing his determination, Donelon appeared to acknowledge that his record was likely to make him a focus on in the impending common session of the Legislature, which commences April 10.

“I really imagined I could make a contribution by stepping out of the political arena,” Donelon stated, “as we go into the legislative session where by there will be debate and disagreement on several of the important issues that are essential to boost our market place on a go-forward foundation.”

Team writer Tyler Bridges contributed to this report.