Bay Area Houston

NOTE: I have arranged a meeting with the TDI staff to address the rising cost of insurance in our area. I will update later.

Her Speech
To say the speech by the Texas Insurance Commissioner Cassie Brown’s was disappointing would be a gross understatement.

After telling the business community how wonderful the TDI is protecting the consumer from the rising cost of insurance and explaining why rates are so high, she left the stage, took no questions, and quickly left the building. Many in the crowd were not  happy especially those at my table. 

I was able to speak with her briefly as well as two other attendees. A realtor told her about the impact to realtors in the area and her personal 40% increase, she basically asked her Why? Brown’s response was simply “I just told you why in my speech”. My question to her was about the price gouging by roofers after a hail storm or hurricane. Her response was short “We have no control over that.”. She then ignored my plea for the TDI to at least address the issue.

Reasons for high premiums.
Iv’e heard the same excuses from the insurance industry. Inflation, rise in home values, and “severity and frequency of storms” (climate change). I have said it before. The entire industry, the lobbyists, and many elected officials will NEVER say “Climate change” it is always “severity and frequency of storms”. She used the exact phrase of the industry.

Actions being taken to reduce the risk
She did not address anything the TDI was doing to reduce damage to homes such as better requirements on roofing materials, stopping price gouging, or anything positive.

My opinion
I do not believe the Commissioner is concerned about our situation. She seems to be representing the industry and the industry only. She showed no interest in our situation, no empathy, no concern. She never addressed the extreme rate increase we were experiencing. It was as if she really didn’t care. Disappointing to say the least especially when talking to the business community.

Texas Insurance Commissioner to Address Clear Lake Businesses

The Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance, Cassie Brown, will be addressing the business community at a meeting sponsored by the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. I will be attending and will report. I am very interested in this meeting and appreciate BAHEP’s effort. Needless to say homeowners are not the only people affected by the rising cost of insurance. Business owners, realtors, home buyers and sellers, and our school districts are all affected. 

I asked her staff if she could squeeze in a visit with people in the community but she is unavailable. I am trying to set up a meeting with her staff in Austin.

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.