Texas looks to make property insurance more affordable
AUSTIN – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today directed the Texas Department of Insurance to take several actions that put consumers first and make property and casualty insurance more affordable for Texans who invest in their homes.
“The average annual homeowners’ insurance premium in Texas has risen 79% in six years,” Abbott said in a media release. “High insurance costs hit Texas families hard. Today I direct the Texas Department of Insurance to put consumers first and take action that makes property and casualty insurance more affordable.”
The TDI has been directed to:
• Require insurers to include a home’s “fortified” roof status in their rate-setting calculations to reduce the cost of insurance premiums
• Prohibit insurers from refusing to write or renew residential property insurance policies based on the age of the property, including individual components such as the age of the roof
• Issue a bulletin for all TDI-regulated products that bans the practice of “price optimization,” whereby insurers use personal data unrelated to insured risk to set prices
• Create an Insurance Fraud Task Force to clamp down on insurance fraud, which harms all consumers by making insurance more expensive
• Conduct a study on the impact of excessive, unnecessary, and inflated claims costs on the Texas commercial auto, personal auto, and homeowner insurance markets
TDI was also directed to identify additional administrative actions “that can be taken immediately and any statutory changes needed to protect consumers and make insurance products more affordable,” according to the release.
Those recommendations are due to the governor’s office by Sept. 14, with Abbott indicating he also intends to work with the state Legislature on consumer protections during its next session, which begins in January.
Read the Governor’s letter to TDI Commissioner Amanda Crawford here.
