BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Insurance announced two auto insurance companies have agreed to lower rates for many customers in Louisiana. 

Progressive submitted a rate filing for a decrease of 2.3% on new business effective August 21 and renewal business effective September 18, the agency said.

Farm Bureau also filed for a decrease of 7.5% on new and renewal business, both effective October 1.  Farm Bureau previously received approval for a 4.4% rate decrease in October of 2019.

The decreases follow previous rate reductions for the companies and also for others, including State Farm.  Combined, the three companies cover more than 50% of the private passenger auto insurance market in Louisiana and total 1.5 million policies.

“These rate decreases are further proof that increased competition in the state’s auto insurance market is continuing to bring about savings for our policyholders,” Commissioner Jim Donelon said in a statement. “When we see rate decreases from one of our top ten companies, it usually isn’t long for the rest to follow suit.”