Updated: Windstorm Negotiations Fail
Updated Sunday, 8:50 a.m.
The marathon negotiations over the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association failed to produce a bill, probably prompting a special session later this summer over that issue. The insurer of last resort is short of funds and lawmakers are trying to reform the quasi-government agency and get it on sound financial footing. The last sticking points were over when and how much to compensate policyholders and their lawyers and became a proxy fight for trial lawyers and tort reformers.
Negotiators for the Senate said the House kept adding issues to be negotiated; the other side — the ...
Comments (22)
Rob Nixon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Hmmm. We're trying to get enough money together to keep enabling developers to make stupid risky gambles on the Texas coast. So risky, insurance companies won't even take them on because they know it's a losing bet. They make the quick money and the taxpayer gets to bail everyone out. That seems completely fair.
Rudy Gonzales
He and Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, said the state is trying to change the agency's culture after a shakeup there. They've got new people in place and now they want to limit claims on the fund to try to get a handle on costs. Hurricane Ike, he said, gave the state an expensive lesson. "We just can't afford to make that mistake again," Taylor said.
Here's the real problem - Perry had placed his croonies into perked positions and they maneuvered special inspectors into positions to do their best to limit liabilities. Rick Perry and others at the top of TWIA and the State board of Insurance had been given special treatment and kickbacks to turn the other eyeon these issues until it got too hot. Mostyn and other lawyers had tapped into a very lucrative money bubble created by Rick Perry and others at TWIA and the State Board of Insurance. Mostyn has been very influential in bringing this rip-off to light in Texas. Larry Taylor is showing his true colors by backing Perry in his fight. Perry and TWIA are both complicit and should be held liable for all funds diverted to other croonies. Mostyn has done a good job in shaking out this Perry/TWIA fiasco.
re-sent Memo to: Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, who said "What you see before you today is not designed to punish anyone". Taylor, maybe there should have been some heads rolled. If Texas can't get the "Big Insurance Companies" to come to the table and is forced to use Texas Windstorm Insurance Association(TWIA), a quasi-governmental insurer of last resort; then there should be closer oversight of this agency. My personal experience was to fight them to get any funding for fixing the entire roof, rather than patch it as they said I could. In my fight I wrote a letter to my insurance company, TWIA, The Governor's office, both my Senators in Washington and my Mayor here in Friendswood and the the office of the President Of these United States to get any monies to fix the problem. They finally relented and funded the entire roof as was recommended by three roofing companies. All this was submitted to TWIA to get satisfaction and even then they himmed and hawed. Now I hear there was collusion between one or two insurer-inspectors and TWIA honchos in the form of possible kick-backs. Taylor, some heads should have rolled. This my second posting on this issue and Perry's complicit-ness. And now, Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood should take the side of those who elected him to represent them and not the career politician, Rick Perry. And Perry is thinking of running for president? This is one corrupt career politician who needs to be retired out of office.
Bill Carson
Perry doesn't want a special session. He's bluffing.
Lee Dunkelberg via Texas Tribune on Facebook
WAIT . . . you mean in Perryland it's OK for the government to underwrite insurance property owners can't get from private side vendors, but not health insurance?
Karen Cummings via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Appears so.
Steve Ferrell via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Heaven forbid that anyone ever stand up to Governor Perry. Isn't it ironic that Perry is going to spend more taxpayer money (in a year where money is tight) by calling a Special Session just so that he can strip the few remaining consumer protection provisions out of the TWIA bill? When it comes to insurance companies, Governor Perry is a bit like Will Rogers--he never met an insurance company he didn't like.
Ann Pittman-Thompson via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Once again Perry is only for things he has an interest (!!!) And the help with everything else. Am continually overwhelmed by his arrogance. We have more years of this to come!!
Ann Pittman-Thompson via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Should say interest in...and the hell with everything else.
Carolyn Qualls via Texas Tribune on Facebook
no, we all made cotributions large and small to be rid of this vile person!
Rudy Oeftering via Texas Tribune on Facebook
That one greedy lawyer can hold up critical reforms to the system is ridiculous.
JimB
Trib clip: "They've got new negotiators in the room for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, replacing Steve Mostyn..."
Am I the only one who find's it amazing that a lobby group (Texas Trial lawyers Association) has a seat at the table of this LEGISLATIVE negotiation? (I'm neutral on the policy issue by the way).
Is this where we are at this point? Those that contribute large amounts of cash actually get to sit in and participate in the meeting to negotiate legislation. Good Lord, these are not elected officials or staff.
Am I just naive and out of the loop, or has this been the regular practice for some time now? Help us all if contributions can buy you an actual seat at the table.
Ross Ramsey
JimB: It's not at all unusual for negotiations to include lobbyists and others from outside the Legislature. They're looking for something that resolves the problem at hand and gets the warring parties to agree to a truce. So the TWIA talks included the House and Senate conferees, the governor's office, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. And if you're wondering, they were closed to the public.
Kathi Thomas via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Perry better hope he never needs to sue anyone. I can't imagine any good plaintiff's lawyer wanting to help someone who has done all he can to deny them a profession.
Steve Ferrell via Texas Tribune on Facebook
@Rudy--the "reforms" aren't critical--unless you're an insurance industry lobbyist.
Preston Hutson via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Typical, rather than own up to ones failure, just blame it on the lawyers.
Melissa Cubria via Texas Tribune on Facebook
rick perry wishes he could be half the man that steve mostyn is. mostyn has been a hero for the people affected by the hurricane. remind me what rick perry has done for those people? oh, wait, actually...could someone remind me what rick perry has done for the people of TEXAS?
Susan Read via Texas Tribune on Facebook
This idea that the trial lawyers are to blame for everything...actually the trial lawyers are Middle Class Texans' only defense against a lot of the ridiculous legislation that Rick Perry and his Gang try to get in place. Rick Perry is not our friend when it comes to defending the Middle Class.
Melissa Cubria via Texas Tribune on Facebook
if the system worked, there would be no need for trial lawyers. fix the system if you want to get rid of trial lawyers. the only problem is this isn't about fixing the system or reforming anything. this is about giving TLR and the insurance lobby/industry what they want. that is all Rick Perry cares about. making the special interests happy and the rich richer.
Melissa Cubria via Texas Tribune on Facebook
it is laughable that we are now blaming trial lawyers. i repeat. trial lawyers would be out of work if they made TWIA function. i don't know how people can believe a word out of Rick Perry's mouth.
Clay Boatright via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Who said there's no transparency in government? Millionaire trial lawyers vs. insurance companies can warrant a special session, yet life and death issues facing hundreds of thousands of Texans with disabilities get lost in a couple of committee public hearing days. It's nice to know what Austin really cares about.
Rudy Gonzales
"We just can't afford to make that mistake again," Taylor said. This mistake should never have happened. In a once great Texas, we have dropped to the bottom of the barrel under the conservative mantra. Conservatism should have had policies and plans in place to foresee complications such as these. Perry had placed his croonies into perked positions and they maneuvered special inspectors into positions to do their best to limit liabilities. In Friendswood, the area Rep. Larry Taylor represents, I personally had to fight tooth and nail to get funding for my house. I should not have had to fight and waste time on getting funding since TWIA was in place for the taxpaying citizens of Texas. The TWIA board responds directly to the Board of Insurance which in turn responds to Rick Perry. TWIA's effort to limit liability asks the question: Who gets paid to oversee this agency, and how much?
Mike C. Miller via Texas Tribune on Facebook
1. Why not report that there was a deal that Perry's negotiator's approved and then Perry backed out of.
2. If the State owned insurance company would pay the claims that it took premiums for, there wouldn't be any lawsuits. Seems like that's the real problem. An insurance company taking premiums and promising to do one thing then doing another when their policy holders need them. Big surprise.
3. And why isn't holding companies responsible for doing what they said they would do and punishing them for failing to do what they said they would do not a good thing for everybody?