What TWIA Policyholders Need to Do Now to Stop the Bad Legislation

This morning’s post, Proposed TWIA Law Smacks Hurricane Ike Claimants, deserves follow-up and some suggestions for action. I am no politician, but I encourage everybody to participate in our process of government. It is the American way, and I am convinced that many positive changes happen because some of us speak our minds about important matters.

One of the basic values we learn as youngsters is that we have to be accountable for promises made and harm done to others. Texas has longstanding consumer protection laws that hold insurance companies accountable when they delay claims payments or wrongfully handle a customer’s insurance claim. It is wrong that TWIA and the insurance industry are trying to escape this responsibility by striking these consumer rights.

It figures that insurers and TWIA are trying to take away customers’ rights through an insurance bill in a devious manner that even the press overlooked. The significant legal changes are buried on page 41 of a 56 page bill that Texas Senators did not have enough time to study and read before its hastened passage. The Senate suspended Texas Constitutional rules, which require time for review of a bill and any amendments, to push this legislation through. For all we know, even they did not realize the bill gutted consumer protection rights and gives the insurance industry virtually unlimited power to ignore or wrongfully dismiss their responsibilities to their customers.

Our Country is in a mess, partially because some corporations failed to act responsibly. We need laws that make insurance companies accountable for unfair and dishonest treatment.

Texas, like so many Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coastal states, is faced with a practical insurance problem caused by some insurance companies getting out of the insurance risk business where there is any possibility that they may lose money. In an industry that supposed to be about risk, many modern insurance companies only want a sure thing. They also want to avoid laws that hold them accountable. Policyholders need assurance that insurance companies will honor their contractual promises promptly, fairly, and fully. This “end around” attempt to take away valuable rights is wrong and must be stopped.

I urge every TWIA policyholder to participate in our democratic process and voice their concern to their elected representatives to stop this bad insurance legislation. Every phone call, email, and letter will make Texas more secure the next time a catastrophe occurs.

The bill is currently before the Texas House Insurance Committee. If it does not come out of Committee before Saturday, it is dead. However, it is anybody’s guess as to what behind the scenes politics are occurring as I write this. So, make your voice heard and contact the House Representatives on the Insurance Committee:

Rep. John T. Smithee (Chair)
District: 86
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0702
District Address: 320 S. Polk, 1st Floor,, Lobby Box 28
Amarillo, TX 79101
District Phone: (806) 372-3327

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (vice chair)
District: 116
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0616
District Address: 1910 Fredericksburg Road
San Antonio, TX 78201
District Phone: (210) 737-7200

Rep. Joe Deshotel
District: 22
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0662
District Address: One Plaza Square, Suite 203
Port Arthur, TX 77642
District Phone: (409) 724-0788

Rep. Craig Eiland
District: 23
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0502
District Address: 9702 E.F. Lowery Expressway
Texas City, TX 77591
District Phone: (800) 345-2630

Rep. Kelly Hancock
District: 91
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0599
District Address: P.O. Box 185096
Fort Worth, TX 76181
District Phone: (817) 590-9280

Rep. Todd Hunter
District: 32
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0672
District Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768

Rep. Carl Isett
District: 84
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0676
District Address: 1001 Main Street, #608
Lubbock, TX 79401
District Phone: (806) 763-2366

Rep. Larry Taylor
District: 24
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0729
District Address: 174 Calder Road, Suite 116
League City, TX 77573
District Phone: (281) 338-0924

Rep. Senfronia Thompson
District: 141
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0720
District Address: 10527 Homestead Road
Houston, TX 77016
District Phone: (713) 633-3390 

Finally, Senator Joan Huffman voted against the measure. She should be applauded for properly representing people in her Coastal District. However, Senator Troy Fraser should be criticized for supporting this legislation. He even tried to “spin” this law as a “reform” rather than the taking away of a policyholder’s rights and law allowing for significant increases of rates for those close to the Texas coast. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, possibly he never realized what the insurance lobbyists snuck into the bill on page 41. Nobody else seems to have noticed the significance of it, either.