TWIA Committee Recommends Staggered Premium Rates
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association could be raising premium rates soon — and for the time first, adjusting policyholder premiums depending on the likelihood of severe storms or hurricane damage in specific areas.
This morning, a TWIA actuarial committee passed a recommendation to the TWIA board to increase rates by 4.7 percent overall, and adjust rates territorially to help the semi-state run insurance company cover all its liabilities.
The TWIA board is “not going to be rubber stamping our recommendation,” said the committee chair, Alice Gannon. She assured the two coastal residents on the committee who voted against the rate ...
Comments (2)
Rudyg43
TWIA making news again, but not the kind we want to see them doing. "The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association could be raising premium rates soon" - This is not the way this agency should be run. Premiums should go down or stabilize at the current rates, as there hasn't been a major storm hit since Ike. Next: "and for the time first, adjusting policyholder premiums depending on the likelihood of severe storms or hurricane damage in specific areas." Who is going to make this determination? i certainly hope Larry Taylor of Friendswood has no say what-so-ever in this. Larry Taylor is notorious for seeking no fraud or hanky-panky by the top management of TWIA and the agencies hired to do their inspections for the agency.
"This morning, a TWIA actuarial committee passed a recommendation to the TWIA board to increase rates by 4.7 percent overall, and adjust rates territorially to help the semi-state run insurance company cover all its liabilities." has there ever been an audit, by an outside agency" of TWIA funding and their uses from day of inception? If not - get one done!
TWIA is the insurer of last resort for Texas coastal residents who otherwise can't find insurance in the private market to cover severe storm and hurricane damage. This points out how incompetent the current TEA-Republican governor and legislation are in adequately providing their fiduciary function for the state.
Lawmakers reorganized the financial structure of TWIA in the 2011 special legislative session to prevent future troubles. - This means the One-party Legislature has effected constraints to keep insureds from seeking redress in the courts. The real question is who is Merlinos and Associates; and how are they connected in any way with anyone in the Texas Legislature or the governors office? Who provided the actuarial data and information to TWIA and who and how was data analysed?
"TWIA would not be able to cover all liabilities as the entity is currently structured." - Points to effecting the changes so that the insured are adequately covered with the most minimum of premiums and administrative costs are reduced to none.
"Under the committee’s recommendation, policyholders in less storm-prone areas could see their rates drop, but the majority of them would have a premium rate increase." Rates drop and premium rate increases should not be in the same sentence.
We know we cannot trust Rick Perry or the state Legislature to perform their fiduciary functions to the benefit of the people as has been adequately disseminated since Bush was governor.
Then I read this: If the TWIA board approves the recommendation, it must also be approved by the Texas Department of Insurance." This agency should not be the end, and in fact anything to do with TWIA should be put to a vote by thoses directly effected by rates, coverage and regulations in a referendum and/or statewide vote. The old adage, "you can't trust a politician" holds truer than ever before in Texas!
If Texans had enough cahunas they would not allow any insurance agency to say they would not write any insurance in Texas. The Governor doesn't have the cahunas and neither does the Attorney General.
I recommend paying close attention to who is involved, how much are they involved, projected costs, actuarial data used and who provided that data and verification with outside hands ond eyes on goings-on. With the amount of money being thrown around, I further recommend using the federal government as over-seer and control of funds at all levels.
gypsy314 ne
This is wrong on raising rates on all because of a few storms. I say lets see the numbers and then cross the bridge. Bad thing about raising rates they do not like to go down after a few years of less or no storms and still paying higher rates. I would say after reviewing numbers maybe go for a temp rate up for two years to level things out but this is a two way street and insurance company's have record profits and still grabbing for more. So I say NO until numbers have been reviewed.