BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Thousands of Louisiana drivers will see car insurance costs fall starting in August.

  

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced Monday that Louisiana Farm Bureau plans to drop rates by 4.4% on its 220,000 auto insurance policies in the state. The lower premium charges will start Aug. 1, when people get new or renewed policies.

  

That's the third car insurance company to seek approval for rate decreases from the insurance department. Donelon earlier announced that State Farm and Progressive Insurance were cutting their car insurance rates.

  

The insurance department says the combined reductions will mean that more than 1.5 million drivers in Louisiana will see lower automobile insurance costs. Still, Louisiana's average car insurance premiums remain among the highest in the country.