CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Concerned residents showed up en masse Tuesday as the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association board put to a vote a proposed five-percent hike on windstorm rates.
A meeting was held at the Omni Hotel in downtown Corpus Christi to discuss the proposed rate hike.
The residents, led by State Rep. Todd Hunter and other area leaders, were there to demonstrate their solidarity against any rate hike. In the end, the TWIA board voted unanimously to keep rates as they are for this year and 2020.
"I don't have a money tree. Our money does not grow on trees. I don't have a $20 tree, a $50 tree, a $100 tree," one Rockport resident said. "I work hard to have the things I have and we need y'all's help."
"I don't see how, with a clear conscience, you can say you need a rate increase when you are operated as poorly as you are," another Coastal Bend resident said.
"No more rate hike, no more rate hike, no more rate hike," community activist Terry Mills said.
In the end, the board backed down and voted for no increase this year or for 2020. However, they will meet again in August of 2020 to discuss rates for 2021.
"They said the crowd here made a big impact," Hunter said. "It was important to get a big crowd so they could see the concerns."
If Hunter and other lawmakers have their way, TWIA will be revamped during the next legislative session in 2021.
"2021. The legislature can take up a statewide plan where everyone is treated the same," Hunter said.
Hunter feels that a catastrophic statewide plan to cover and treat all areas of the state fairly is in order, instead of what we have now.
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