Your Louisiana auto premium went up after a crash you did not cause. The timing is suspicious, but it does not by itself show that the insurer broke the law. The useful question is whether the insurer considered that nonfault incident when it raised your rate, added a surcharge, canceled the policy, or declined to renew it.
Louisiana Revised Statute 22:1284 prohibits those actions when they are based on one or more nonfault incidents. It does not freeze every part of an auto premium after an accident. A separate, generally applicable rate change may still affect the renewal price. The insurer’s stated reason and rating record matter.
What counts as a nonfault incident?
Under the statute, a nonfault incident is an accident, collision, or other incident involving a vehicle covered by the insurer’s policy in which the driver of the insured vehicle was not at fault. A police report is not required for the definition to apply. That does not mean fault is always undisputed. Preserve the crash report if one exists, photographs, video, witness information, and the insurer’s fault determination so the classification can be checked.
Filing a UM claim or pursuing benefits from your own insurer does not automatically make an otherwise nonfault collision an at-fault one. Section 22:1284 focuses on whether the insurer considered a qualifying nonfault incident, not simply on whether a claim or lawsuit was filed. The firm’s guide to investigating an uninsured-driver claim addresses the separate coverage search.
A higher bill is a starting point, not the proof
Ask the insurer for a written explanation of the renewal price, surcharge, or underwriting decision. Keep the declarations and renewal notices from before and after the crash, the claim number, any fault coding, and the insurer’s explanation. Compare the actual rating factors rather than relying only on the total premium.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns. Use the arrow keys when the table is focused.
| What changed | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| A crash appears as at fault in the claim record | What evidence supports that classification, and how can an error be corrected? |
| A surcharge follows a nonfault collision | Was the incident considered in calculating the surcharge or renewal rate? |
| The entire premium rose | Which rating factors changed, and was this incident one of them? |
| The policy was canceled or not renewed | What specific reason did the insurer rely on in its notice? |
A dispute about fault is separate from the arithmetic. The article on partial fault after a Louisiana car accident explains why the evidence of what each driver did can change the civil analysis. Do not let an insurer’s internal label substitute for the underlying crash evidence.
What Louisiana law provides if the insurer used the incident
Section 22:1284 requires an insurer that violates the prohibition to refund the excess premium. It also provides a penalty equal to three times the refund or $1,000, whichever is greater, and attorney fees if the insured prevails. The statute separately says nonfault accidents or collisions cannot be the sole basis for denying an application and cannot be considered in setting rates for that application.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance’s consumer guide, revised February 2025, says a company cannot raise a premium for a non-at-fault accident. It lists the Office of Consumer Services at 225-342-1258 for questions about a rate increase after a claim. A consumer can use that route to ask about the insurer’s explanation, without assuming that every higher renewal price proves a violation.
If the accident was not your fault and the insurer appears to have used it against you, obtain the rating explanation and preserve the documents before challenging the decision. Babcock Injury Lawyers can review the crash and UM issues through its Baton Rouge car-accident practice. Call 225-500-5000 to discuss the facts. This article is general information, not a determination that a particular premium change was unlawful.
Sources and accuracy
Sources checked: September 28, 2026. Current La. R.S. 22:1284 and the Louisiana Department of Insurance’s February 2025 consumer guide were reviewed.