La. Stat. tit. 36 § 683
There may be a chief deputy commissioner of the department, who shall be appointed by the commissioner of insurance with consent of the Senate and who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner of insurance in the office of the commissioner, at a salary fixed by the commissioner of insurance, which salary shall not exceed the amount approved for such position by the legislature while in session. The chief deputy shall be the first assistant of the commissioner of insurance appointed pursuant to Article IV, Section 13 of the Constitution of Louisiana. The duties and functions of the chief deputy commissioner shall be determined and assigned by the commissioner of insurance. The chief deputy shall serve as acting commissioner of insurance in the absence of the commissioner as provided by law.
La. R.S. § 36:683