CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association board of directors voted against raising rates during its meeting in Galveston on Tuesday.
The board heard public comments against the rate increase, as well as comment from the Texas Coastal Legislative Delegation, a group of Texas lawmakers which includes Dist. 32 State Rep. Todd Hunter.
Hunter said he doesn’t know exactly why the board, in essence, voted in favor of shoreline residents, but said he felt equity of the coastline and fairness played a part.
“We cannot continue to punish coastal residents and businesses with insurance,” he said.
TWIA was established in 1970 after Hurricane Celia left families without recourse when the Category 4 storm damaged and destroyed homes up and down the Gulf of Mexico.
Every year, the organization is required to file a rate change with the Texas Department of Insurance, the state-run group that regulates the industry.
The TWIA board received a recommendation from its actuarial and underwriting committee to increase rates 5 percent for residential clients and 8 percent for commercial clients, claiming that current rates would leave TWIA unable to fulfill claims by 20 percent for residential customers and 25 percent for commercial customers.
That recommendation was voted down, 5-4.
Hunter and other legislators argued that coastal schools are already being penalized by laws such as the so-called “Robin Hood” law which requires schools that collect tax money from refineries and other industry -- such as Gregory-Portland and Tuloso-Midway – give a lot of that money to the state to distribute to economically disadvantaged school districts.
“We have schools that need to give the money back,” he said. “And if you give the money back, you’re sitting there with less money, and then you’re hit with a gigantic windstorm insurance payment. That’s a punishment on the school systems.”
