Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act: Key Revisions Effective August 1, 2026

Starting August 1, 2026, important changes to the Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act (“LOAIA”), La. R.S. 9:2780, take effect under Act No. 328 (House Bill No. 941). For the first time, the law creates a formal, statutory process for obtaining additional insured coverage in connection with oilfield agreements, as long as parties follow specific procedural steps. At the same time, it keeps the Act’s long-standing rule against making one party defend or indemnify another for that party’s own negligence or fault. Oilfield operators, drilling contractors, service companies, and their insurers should take a close look at how these changes will affect their current and future contracts and insurance arrangements.

Overview of the Amendments

The most important change under Act No. 328 is new Subsection H, which establishes an enforceable process for obtaining additional insured coverage in connection with oilfield agreements.

Before this amendment, Subsection G voided any contract provision requiring additional insured endorsements or other insurance protections if those provisions circumvented the Subsection B indemnity ban. Courts had carved out a narrow exception to this rule in Marcel v. Placid Oil Co., 11 F.3d 563 (5th Cir. 1994), but there was no statute authorizing additional insured coverage in the oilfield context. In practice, Courts had long struggled with whether parties had fully complied with the Marcel exception. This led to fact-dependent litigation over numerous issues, including whether the premium paid was adequate consideration for the amount of additional insured coverage, whether such coverage was in effect at the time of the alleged loss, and which parties down the contractual line were entitled to additional insured status.

New Subsection H now writes that court-made exception into LOAIA, but also goes further than Marcel by addressing previously litigated issues and requiring a specific, multi-step process before additional insured coverage will be considered valid and enforceable.

Under new Subsection H(1), a party seeking additional insured coverage for itself (or for itself and the members of its “group,” as defined in its agreement with the named insured) must:

• Send a separate written request for an additional insured premium quote to the named insured or its insurance agent or broker;

• Get a premium quote back from the named insured’s insurer or its authorized representative; and

• Pay the named insured’s insurer (or its authorized representative) directly for that coverage.

Under new Subsection H(2)(a), coverage for a “group” is only valid and enforceable if the premium was specifically quoted for group coverage and the additional insured’s payment matches that group premium amount.

Once additional insured coverage is in place, Subsection H(2)(b) and (c) require the named insured, its insurer, or its authorized representative to notify the additional insured in writing at least 30 days before the next annual premium is due, or within 7 days of binding renewal coverage, whichever comes first. But if the additional insured skipped the initial written request under H(1)(a) or didn’t pay in the prior policy year, no renewal notice is owed, and the additional insured has to start over with a new written request.

Once additional insured coverage is obtained under this new procedure:

• The additional insured, not the named insured, is responsible for deductibles or retentions up to $100,000.

• The named insured is only responsible for amounts above that $100,000 threshold.

• Any agreement that requires the named insured to fund all or part of that first $100,000 is void and unenforceable, and Subsection H won’t apply to it.

Act No. 328 also makes a few smaller technical revisions worth noting:

• In Subsections B and C, the phrase “a well for oil, gas, or water” now reads “a well or wells for oil, gas, or water,” confirming the Act applies whether one well or several are involved.

• The word “illustrative” is added before “activities,” and the phrase “of this Section” is added or clarified in two places, tightening the cross-references to the list of activities in Subsection C.

It’s worth stressing that the core anti-indemnity rule hasn’t changed. Subsection B still voids any provision in an oilfield agreement that tries to give an indemnitee defense or indemnity for death or bodily injury caused by that indemnitee’s own negligence or fault (including strict liability), whether the fault is sole or concurrent, and whether it belongs to the indemnitee or its agents, employees, or directly responsible independent contractors. Subsection C’s broad definition of covered “agreements,” including drilling, reworking, servicing, and related oilfield operations, plus master service agreements (“MSAs”) and blanket contracts, still applies, now with the “well or wells” clarification. And Subsection G still bars contract provisions that try to get around Subsection B through waivers of subrogation or other insurance mechanisms, though that rule is now subject to the new Subsection H exception for properly obtained additional insured coverage.

New Subsection H(5) includes a savings clause confirming that the anti-indemnity rule in Subsection B still controls, no matter what additional insured arrangement is in place. Nothing in Subsection H undoes, or is meant to undo, the core Subsection B prohibition on defense and indemnity for an indemnitee’s own negligence or fault. That prohibition stays and still renders such indemnity provisions null, void, and against public policy regardless of any additional insured arrangement.

These changes take effect August 1, 2026. Under re-lettered Subsection J, the new provisions apply to agreements, including MSAs and blanket contracts, meant to cover indemnity for future work between the indemnitor and indemnitee. They don’t apply to a contract signed before the effective date that covers a specific, terminable job or activity described in Subsection C. Put simply, existing job-specific contracts signed before August 1, 2026, are grandfathered in, but ongoing or future-facing MSAs and blanket contracts must meet the new requirements going forward.

Practical Considerations and Recommended Steps

With these changes taking effect August 1, 2026, here’s what oilfield operators, contractors, service companies, and their insurers should be doing now:

• Review your existing drilling contracts and MSAs. Look at how the new additional insured procedures (written request, premium quote, direct payment) will interact with your current insurance and indemnity provisions, and determine whether your existing additional insured arrangements already meet the new requirements or need to be amended.

• Build internal procedures for the new additional insured process now, not later. The three steps—written request, quote, and direct payment—all have to happen in the right order for the coverage to be enforceable, and in practice, indemnity and insurance provisions in these contracts often don’t get finalized until shortly before work is set to begin. That leaves little room to negotiate or revise these terms once a job is imminent, and doing so on a tight deadline can be both time-consuming and costly. Companies should put protocols in place ahead of time and assign specific personnel to handle requests, track quotes, and send payments directly to the insurer or its authorized representative, so they aren’t scrambling to comply once a project timeline is already set.

• Understand the $100,000 deductible and retention split. Under the new law, the additional insured is on the hook for deductibles and retentions up to $100,000, and the named insured only picks up costs above that amount. Any agreement that tries to shift that first $100,000 back to the named insured is void. Parties should think through what this means for their risk exposure and budget for it accordingly.

• Set up a system for the 30-day and 7-day notice requirements. Named insureds, and their insurers or brokers, have to give additional insureds timely written notice before annual premium renewals. Missing these deadlines can disrupt coverage, so calendar them and build reminders into your renewal process.

• Coordinate with your insurers and brokers. Confirm they’re ready to provide premium quotes for additional insured coverage that meet the new statutory requirements, and that they’ll issue renewal notices within the required timeframes.

• Keep in mind that the core anti-indemnity rule hasn’t gone anywhere. The new additional insured framework doesn’t change the basic prohibition on defense and indemnity for an indemnitee’s own negligence or fault. Don’t read these changes as opening the door to indemnity arrangements that were already void under Subsection B; those provisions are still null, void, and against public policy.

• Sort out which contracts are grandfathered. Existing contracts covering a specific, terminable job or activity signed before August 1, 2026, aren’t subject to the new requirements. But MSAs, blanket contracts, and agreements covering future work will be governed by the amended statute. Figure out which of your contracts fall into each category and plan accordingly.

We’ll keep monitoring developments under the Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act.