Bay Area Houston

As I mentioned a few days ago:

Progressive Insurance sent out a message to home owners and insurance agents in the Bay Area urging them to contact elected officials concerning an insurance bill. Just an FYI: Progressive will NOT write policies in the Bay Area.

The agents have responded. You can read their comments in opposition of the bill here. They pretty much reflect the talking points provided by Progressive. So take a few minutes to write to the Committee in support of this bill. Here are my talking points:

• This bill requires the insurance industry to justify rate increases over 10%. If they can’t justify their increases they should not be able to increase.
• This bill is the least our elected officials can do for those affected by the rising cost of home insurance. Literally.
• This bill will NOT address the problem of our out of control insurance premiums
• Justifying an increase in rates will NOT lower premiums since premiums are calculated based upon the rates and other factors
• Our issue in the Bay Area is the extreme premiums and deductibles.

Your comments would be appreciated 
On Monday 5/19/25  the House Insurance Committee will hear Senate Bill 1643. This bill will require insurance companies to justify to the Texas Department of Insurance any rate increase above 10%. It DOES NOT regulate the rate, it simply requires a justification.

The Industry has sent out emails to their insurance agents to write comments opposing this bill and they have. You can also send in comments. It is easy. The form is online here. Do the following:

• Fill out your personal information
• Select SB 1643 by Schwertner
• Enter your comments including your support for the bill
• Submit your comments

Again thank you for your interest in this issue!

Progressive Insurance sent out a message to home owners and insurance agents in the Bay Area urging them to contact elected officials concerning an insurance bill. Just an FYI: Progressive will NOT write policies in the Bay Area.

Senate Bill 1643 will require an insurance company to justify their rate increases of more than 10% prior to using the new rates. Back in 2003 the Legislature removed the prior approval of rate increases and implemented a “File and Use” system allowing the insurance industry to raise rates, file them with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), and immediately use the new rates. The rates could be challenged by TDI but they rarely do.

Needless to say the insurance industry is whining like a two year old, sending out emails to their agents and homeowners doing what they have been doing for the last 20 years, complain about turning into California with rate regulations. If they lived in the Bay Area they would realize that we ARE California! Rates have skyrocketed and deductibles are through the roof. Many companies including Progressive, will NOT write policies in the area. Their great “Free Market” lets them Flee the Market and they have. All the bill requires is justification for raising rates above 10%. If you can’t justify it, you shouldn’t be using it. It’s not regulating squat.

The hearing for the bill was scheduled in the House Insurance Committee has been canceled.

We are on our own until November 2026.

Side Sour Note: 
Since my visit to Austin I have been overly busy and have neglected to keep you informed of the progress of any bills that may help us with the rising cost of insurance. I left Austin extremely disappointed in the lack of attention to our situation. Let me be blunt about where we stand. No one is coming to help us. The bills being debated are nothing but minor changes that will NOT help reduce our premiums. There are some Legislators who understand our situation and are trying but they are overwhelmed by the opposition in Austin. Where do we go from here? I do not know.

Bills being debated:
Megan Kimble of the Houston Chronicle just wrote an excellent article, “Texas plan to rein in home insurers doesn’t go far enough”  concerning a number of bills making their way through Austin. Take some time to read it to understand where we stand.

Our State Representative and Senator
HB2067/SB1006. State Representative Dennis Paul and Senator Mayes Middleton filed HB2067 and SB1006 which are “companion” bills. Companions make it easier to fast track. Both are on their way to passing but will have no effect on our situation. The bills require an insurance company to write a letter when they cancel or deny service to you. That’s all it does. Expect them to boast about this accomplishment soon after the session is over.

Senator Mayes is stepping away from his seat to run for Texas Attorney General and Dennis Paul is rumored to be retiring. Maybe we can find two candidates who will champion our cause in 2026.

HB2741 will prohibit the use of credit scoring in setting premiums. It was left pending in the Insurance Committee in early April. SB1644 Will require an insurance company to write a letter if your credit score negatively affects your premiums. It seems ready to pass. Once again pretty useless.

SB1643 will require insurance companies to justify an increase in a rate over 10%. It passed the Senate. This bill does NOT apply to increases in premiums. It is for rate increases. Your rate may not change but your premium might double. This bill does absolutely nothing for us. 

HB1576/SB2924 will create a “Fortify” program similar to Alabama. In Alabama the state helps you fortify your home from weather events in exchange for lower premiums. The Texas bill does not guarantee lower premiums. Why anyone would go through the expense of fortifying a home without an incentive is beyond me. The House bill has passed the house. The Senate bill is coming up for a hearing.

No bills were filed to address the cost of repairs or price gouging after a weather event.

Our Representative, Dennis Paul, filed HB 2067. The hearing for HB 2067 was held on Tuesday March 26 starting at 8:00 am in Austin. The bill will simply require an insurance company to write a letter to a policy holder if they deny or cancel their policy. That’s it. Nothing more. It will NOT lower our premiums or deductibles. 

You can view the entire hearing here. It starts at 1:30 and runs for about 15 minutes.  I spoke with every staff member responsible for the bills in the Insurance Committee and urged them to, at the very least, require the insurance companies to report this information to the Texas Department of Insurance so we can know what companies do not do business in our area. That was not discussed in the hearing. I also met with Representative Paul last week concerning this issue.

At the end of the hearing a member of the TDI touched on the lack of this data being available to the consumers but unless a bill addresses this issue nothing will be done. This bill does not address this issue.

Thank you for sending your comments to the committee. There are other bills being addressed. I will keep you informed.

Do something!

Our Representative, Dennis Paul, filed HB 2067. The hearing for HB 2067 is scheduled for Tuesday March 26 starting at 8:00 am in Austin. The bill will simply require an insurance company to write a letter to a policy holder if they deny or cancel their policy. That’s it. Nothing more. It will NOT lower our premiums or deductibles. Contact the members of the committee and voice your concerns. (Talking points below)

Register your comments on the Insurance Committee website. It’s easy!

Then send your comments to the following with the subject line Comments on SB1006. You can also call and and ask to talk with someone about HB2067 in the Insurance Committee. Send it to the following:

Easy cut and paste email addresses:
jay.dean@house.texas.gov
hubert.vo@house.texas.gov
dennis.paul@house.texas.gov
david.spiller@house.texas.gov
jessica.gonzalez@house.texas.gov
vikki.goodwin@house.texas.gov
andy.hopper@house.texas.gov
matt.morgan@house.texas.gov
trey.wharton@house.texas.gov
greg.bentch@house.texas.gov

Here are some talking points:

• We are in dire need of premium and deductible relief.
• This bill will not reduce our premiums
• This bill will not make our deductibles reasonable
• At the very least this bill should require the insurance companies to report denial of service to the Department of Insurance and make this information public.

A Report from Austin 
(BTW halfway through my visit I received my renewal notice. My home insurance increased from $6000 to $9000) 

Last week I was joined by another homeowner from the Bay Area at the Capitol (Thanks Doug). We were able to talk with the staff of most of the members of the House Insurance Committee concerning the rising cost of home insurance in our area. The bottom line? I don’t think they understand the severity of the situation here in the Bay Area..

We were able to meet with our State Representative Dennis Paul and his Chief of Staff. As you may know Representative Paul lives two blocks from me and he had his roof replaced after the hail in May so he must know what we are going through but our conversation was not what I expected. He had a lot of excuses for the rising cost of insurance including inflation, supply chain issues, and lawsuit abuse. All of these combined could not account for excessive rates in our area. These are  talking points used by the insurance industry. They also talked very briefly about “climate change” or as they call it “frequency and intensity of storms)

We made sure they were aware of the excessive cost of repairs which directly affect our premiums. Roofs replacements after a storm should not  cost $32,000 in our area especially when that roof would cost only $8000 under normal conditions. (My estimate was $24,000 and was submitted as $40,000 to my insurance company)

We discussed the fact that the “Free market” is letting the insurance industry free to leave the market. The top 6 companies in Texas will NOT write policies in our area. We are now being pushed into a socialized market run by the State, the Texas Fair Plan, which is not fair.

We provided some solutions like using better building materials, automatic cutoff valves for water pipes, the use of metal roofs. 

I have provided the letter we left with them below. I will have a list of bills affecting our insurance premiums early next week.

The Business and Commerce held a hearing on Senate Bill 1006 filed by our Senator Mayes Middleton. I’ve been critical of the bill since all it will do is require an insurance company to send a letter to explain why they canceled your policy or denied you service. It does NOT require this information to be provided to the Texas Department of Insurance and made available to the public. You can view the entire meeting here starting at 1:19:30. Here is a recap:

• The insurance companies are NOT in favor of this simple bill.
• The insurance companies already are required to provide this information IF you ask.
• Senator Zaffarini asked if this information concerning cancellations and denials are being collected by TDI. (They are not) The Houston Chronicle wrote a story on this problem.
• FYI. The members of the Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions, Allstate, Farmers, Farmers Bureau, USAA, Nationwide, and State Farm will NOT write new policies in our area.
• This letter could help homeowners fight the insurance company if the reason for denial contains false information.

Get off your butt and do something! It is easy.

Our Senator Mayes Middleton filed SB1006. The hearing for SB1006 is scheduled for Tuesday March 4 starting at 10:00am in Austin. Our State Representative Dennis Paul filed a “companion” bill which is an exact duplicate. The bill will require an insurance company to write a letter to a policy holder if they deny or cancel your policy. That’s it. Nothing more. It will NOT lower our premiums or deductibles. Please send comments to the following with the subject line Comments on SB1006. Click here to email each. You can also call and and tell them you want to talk with someone about SB1006 in the Business and Commerce Committee. Send it to the following:

Easy cut and paste email addresses:
charles.schwertner@senate.texas.gov
phil.king@senate.texas.gov
cesar.blanco@senate.texas.gov
donna.campbell@senate.texas.gov
brandon.creighton@senate.texas.gov
nathan.johnson@senate.texas.gov
Lois.Kolkhorst@senate.texas.gov
jose.menendez@senate.texas.gov
robert.nichols@senate.texas.gov
judith.zaffirini@senate.texas.gov
mayes.middleton@senate.texas.gov
matt.patterson@senate.texas.gov

Here are some talking points:

• We are in dire need of premium and deductible relief.
• This bill will not reduce our premiums
• This bill will not make our deductibles reasonable
• At the very least this bill should require the insurance companies to report denial of service to the Department of Insurance and make this information public.

I’ll save you the trouble of reading 4 pages.

The Texas House State Affairs Committee was charged to “Examine the impact of current economic challenges on the escalating costs of insurance premiums“. They held a hearing with invited testimony only. Many consumers, especially in this area, contacted the committee. I don’t think it helped. Here is a summary. The full report can be read here starting on page 70.

• Only invited testimony was allowed including a lobbyist from the Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions representing the top 6 insurers in the state.
• In 2003 Texas adopted a “file and use” system allowing insurance companies to raise rates without prior approval from the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI)
• TDI has the rights to disapprove the rate increases but has rarely used this right
• Climate change is being blamed for high insurance rates disguise as “Frequency of storms” and “Intensity of storms”
• 60-70% of all premiums are used to pay out claims.
• AARP testified concerning the hardship being placed on the elderly on fixed incomes
• Oncor stated their insurance went from $10 Million to $60 Million in just a few years. This is passed on to consumers
• Insurance companies are complaining about “reinsurance” which I believe is insurance for insurance companies.
• Texas is NOT addressing non-renewals. They are not collecting this data. 5 of the 6 companies in the TCAIS will not cover the Bay Area
• 4 Companies, including Progressive, have left the state
• Legislators are concerned about the lack of transparency in rate increases

Recommendations:
This is disturbing. The outrageous cost of roofing after an event such as hail or a storm was not mentioned. There is evidence of price gouging concerning construction cost. They need to address it.

The recommendations included “Promote Risk Mitigation Programs:” such as the Fortify program Alabama adopted 15 years ago. A water downed bill has been filed on this issue.

They recommend providing tax funded backup to insurance companies to keep them in Texas. That doesnt make sense especially when they also recommend phasing out the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and the Texas Fair Plan to allow the industry to provide these services. (They do NOT want to provide these services)

They also recommend educating homeowners and placing a surcharge on all insurance companies to pay out disaster claims.

As I said about the Senate report. This was underwhelming.