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In the past few years, home insurance costs have really come to the fore as something about which consumers have expressed significant concern. As such, a number of state legislatures have taken steps to help residents find more affordable coverage through increased transparency, and one of them is in Louisiana. As such, it might be helpful for insurance agents operating there to do more to help consumers understand their policies and what goes into them, as a means of improving their customer relationships.

Louisiana has been requiring home insurance policy providers to give shoppers and clients alike more transparency when it comes to their coverage, and what goes into setting the premiums they pay every month, according to a report from the Lafourche Parish Daily Comet. This comes after the unanimous passage in both the state's House of Representatives and Senate of House Bill 909, put forth by State Rep. Christopher Leopold, and was signed into law in early June.

""It's all in the name of transparency,"" David Gauthe, senior community organizer with Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing, which helped develop the law, told the newspaper. ""My goal is to find the information and make sure it's correct. If they're honest, it's going to be accepted by the general public. ... If not, then we'll have some questions that need to be answered.""

What does it mean?
Specifically, the law states that insurance data for premiums, losses, and rate methodology must be listed on the state's Department of Insurance website starting next May, the report said. State residents will then be able to sort this data by area, ZIP code, and risk, and it can be tracked as far back as 2004. The bill also has an out clause that would go into effect in 2017 if it doesn't work as intended.

Studies have shown that when it comes to what consumers value from their insurance providers, it's more often high-quality customer service than simple access to lower prices that helps to boost their positive feeling about their companies. As such, the insurance agents who can best deal with these clients on a regular basis, helping them to understand the various aspects of their policies and answer whatever questions they might have, are the ones that are most likely to have success in the market these days, and either retain current customers or potentially attract new ones.

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