BATON ROUGE - A pair of Houma-Thibodaux area lawmakers saw differing results Wednesday for a similar set of bills that seek to add consumer protections on insurance policies that cover homes.

The state House also approved legislation that would increase the cost of homeowners insurance by limiting how special hurricane deductibles are applied to policies in Louisiana.

During a morning meeting of the Senate Insurance Committee, Sen. Reggie Dupre put a hold on his efforts to force insurance companies to offer separate contents coverage as an option on homeowner policies.

Dupre, D-Bourg, said he filed Senate Bill 165 because constituents had complained that their policies had become too expensive due to the costs of covering the materials inside their homes.

"My intention was to make sure that consumers could have the broadest amount of options possible," Dupre said, "and if they wanted to take the risk and save the money, they could take that risk."

Dupre said he was told by officials at the state Department of Insurance that an optional "dwelling policy" is available and that he plans on working with the department to make sure policyholders are better informed about these options.

Still, there are serious problems with the current system, said Sen. Gerald Long, R-Winnfield.

"Sometimes the banks will not accept the dwelling policy," Long said.

Dupre clarified that his bill had only "temporarily" been shelved and it may be taken back up based upon his findings in coming weeks.

During the afternoon meeting of the full House, Rep. Damon Baldone, D-Houma, advanced his legislation to regulate for the first time companies that sell home-service warranty contracts. Such contracts are typically sold to homeowners to insure large appliances like central air, stoves or televisions.

Baldone said his House Bill 704 would help keep tabs on an industry that is already being regulated by 15 other states.

He said companies often close down, leaving consumers in the lurch when they need service to repair their appliances.

Baldone's bill would require home-service warranty companies to register with the state Department of Insurance and comply with certain guidelines on insuring contracts and maintaining its net worth.

The House also approved House Bill 333 by Rep. Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, which would limit how insurance companies are allowed to apply named-storm deductibles, which helps them cut their losses.

In Louisiana, these deductibles are applied to storms named by the National Hurricane Center and they can be used by insurance companies more than once per year.

Currently, when a named-storm deductible is triggered, insurance companies set the deductible at up to 5 percent of a property's value.

For example, someone owning a home valued at $100,000 could have an out-of-pocket cost of $5,000 if the property is damaged by a hurricane or tropical storm.

State Insurance Commission Jim Donelon said homeowners should expect some sort of rate hike, possibly as much as 2 percent, should Kleckley's legislation pass.

Both HB 333 and HB 704 now move to the Senate, where they will likely be assigned to the Senate Insurance Committee for further debate.