AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s (TPPF) Vice President of Research and Center for Economic Freedom Director Bill Peacock and Center for Economic Freedom Policy Analyst Kathleen Hunker testified today before the Texas Senate Business & Commerce Committee. Mr. Peacock testified on Senate Bill 900, which relates to the operation of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and the renaming of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association as the Texas Coastal Insurance Association. While Ms. Hunker testified on Senate Bill 1628, which relates to insurance claims and certain prohibited acts and practices in or in relation to the business of insurance; amending provisions that are or may be subject to a criminal penalty.
“The key to reducing TWIA’s exposure—and ultimately the exposure of Texas taxpayers and consumers—to the costs of a major storm is to base windstorm insurance rates on risk,” said Peacock. “Unfortunately, SB 900 takes us in the opposite direction and will lead to even more subsidies, greater exposure, and a permanent presence for TWIA.”
“Attorneys have created an entire cottage industry, where they submit false, redundant, and negligible claims to insurance companies in the hopes of cashing in on mandatory attorney fee awards,” said Hunker. “This run on Texas insurers has cost customers millions of dollars in the form higher premiums and increased deductibles. Texas already has some of the highest property insurance in the country without having to add a firm’s billable hours to the mix.”
More information about the hearing can be found at: http://txpo.li/1bKMx9A
To schedule an interview with Mr. Peacock or Ms. Hunker, please contact Caroline Espinosa at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
Bill Peacock is vice president of research and director of the Center for Economic Freedom at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Kathleen Hunker is a policy analyst with the Center for Economic Freedom at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.