Louisiana Insurance Coverage Guidelines for Non-Owned and Temporary Substitute Cars

As of August 1, 2022, Louisiana law (LSA-R.S. 22:1296.1) defines a Non-Owned Car (NOC) as one operated with permission that is not owned by the insured and not regularly available to them. Handlers must investigate the 'regular use' status rather than assuming exclusions based solely on household membership. NOC coverage is secondary to the vehicle owner's policy, except in cases of dealer-owned loaner vehicles, where State Farm policy is primary per LSA-R.S. 22:1291, providing full policy limits.

Under LSA-R.S. 22:1296, insurance policies must extend primary coverage to temporary substitute vehicles and rental vehicles. If an insured drives a qualifying TSC, their own policy is primary. Regarding permissive users, while policy language may be restrictive, state courts have mandated that coverage available to an omnibus insured on the described vehicle must extend to an insured operating an NOC/TSC.

Specific rules apply to rental vendors: for Enterprise, State Farm provides primary liability; for Hertz, the vendor provides primary liability for renters over 21 by contract; for all other vendors, State Farm provides primary liability and physical damage coverage. Management should be consulted if there is doubt regarding the qualification of a specific rented vehicle for coverage.