Speak up against windstorm insurance rate hike | Guest Columns

The Texas Windstorm Insurance coverage Affiliation is assembly once more Tuesday and by now everyone knows what which means: An try to lift our charges is coming. We’d like your assist to cease that from taking place.

Over the previous few years, the Coastal Windstorm Insurance coverage Coalition has labored with our legislative leaders, together with Sen. Larry Taylor and state Rep. Mayes Middleton, to make sure that we shine a light-weight into the affiliation’s perception that we don’t pay sufficient for windstorm protection.

Final session we handed essentially the most vital pro-coast affiliation laws in over 40 years. A part of that laws was to create a committee to assessment the affiliation’s funding construction. Sadly, because of COVID, that committee hasn’t had an opportunity to fulfill in any respect.

The affiliation’s board of administrators has been working properly with coastal legislative members during the last a number of years by not elevating charges and hiring an impartial actuarial agency to assessment their calculations calling for price will increase, however their good religion could possibly be operating out.

Earlier this summer time, the affiliation’s actuarial committee — the group that decides whether or not to suggest price will increase to the complete affiliation board — met to assessment the impartial agency’s evaluation. When the report didn’t justify the affiliation’s try to indicate that huge price hikes have been wanted, the committee voted to not suggest a price improve to the board.

Nevertheless, as an alternative of stopping there, the committee requested for extra data and scheduled a further assembly earlier than the affiliation’s board assembly Tuesday — one other proverbial chunk on the apple.

That requested assembly occurred Dec. 1, and the affiliation’s actuarial committee once more refused to surrender the ghost. Though they in the end received it proper by not recommending a price hike to the board (on a 4-Three choice), they left the door open for the affiliation’s board to lift charges by refusing to vote for a zero price hike advice.

As well as, the affiliation didn’t launch the knowledge for the assembly till 24 hours after the deadline for public remark expired. There was no time to assessment the knowledge, not to mention touch upon it, earlier than the listening to. The precise reverse of fine, clear authorities.

We’d like your assist to forestall the affiliation’s board from growing your charges. It’s necessary that your voice is heard on the affiliation’s board assembly on Tuesday. You possibly can present feedback through Zoom in the course of the assembly. To supply public remark through Zoom, you should register at www.twia.org. We’d like you to supply feedback to the affiliation about why a price improve is unhealthy for Gulf Coast ratepayers.

The present pandemic has left many in our neighborhood struggling to only get by. We nonetheless haven’t recovered from Hurricane Harvey, not to mention all the things that has occurred since then. At this level, a price improve could be devastating to 1000’s of Texans. Let your voice be heard.

Henry Freudenburg is chairman of the Coastal Windstorm Insurance coverage Coalition.

— to www.galvnews.com

The post Speak up against windstorm insurance rate hike | Guest Columns appeared first on Correct Success.

source https://correctsuccess.com/insurance/speak-up-against-windstorm-insurance-rate-hike-guest-columns/