Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Fix Texas Insurance Tour stops in Midland
Statewide Tour Highlights Need for Real, Common Sense Insurance Reforms
By the Midland Reporter-Telegram
Texas Watch’s Fix Texas Insurance Tour rolled into Midland Tuesday to raise awareness about the need for common sense insurance reforms that will lower rates and improve insurance industry accountability.
The Fix Texas Insurance Tour is traveling by RV to every corner of the state, visiting 16 Texas cities to raise awareness about the influence the insurance industry has on the state legislature and the Texas Supreme Court and the need for common sense insurance reforms that include prior approval of insurance rates, making the insurance commissioner an elected position, and ending unfair insurance practices like credit scoring. Information about the tour has been posted online at www.FixTexasInsurance.org.
“At a time when Texas families are struggling to keep up with high fuel, food, and housing costs, Texas lawmakers have an opportunity to provide relief to homeowners by enacting real insurance reforms that lower rates,” said N. Alex Winslow, Executive Director of Texas Watch, a statewide citizens advocacy organization active on insurance and other consumer oriented issues. “During our three-week tour of the state, we will be talking with real Texans and providing real solutions that will benefit Texas homeowners and families.”
At nearly twice the national average, Texans continue to pay the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the nation – higher than Florida, Louisiana, California, and every other state in the union. Five years after lawmakers enacted so-called insurance “reform” (SB 14), premiums remain inflated and insurance industry losses have plummeted resulting in skyrocketing industry profits.
“Texas families are paying more for insurance and getting less,” said Winslow. “It is time for the legislature to tackle this issue once and for all by cracking down on out of control insurance companies through real oversight and enforcement.”
Texas Watch offered the following solutions for improving the insurance market for consumers:
- Streamlined Prior Approval. Instead of playing catch-up every time an insurance company unfairly raises rates, the insurance commissioner should be required to approve rates before they are imposed on Texas homeowners. This ensures that rates are fair before homeowners are forced to pay them – not after.
- Elect the Insurance Commissioner. The decisions made by the insurance commissioner affect the lives of every Texan, and all Texans should have a hand in choosing the person who is supposed to be looking out for our interests. We should make the insurance commissioner a statewide elected position so that he or she is directly responsible to Texas drivers, homeowners, patients, and small business owners. This guarantees that the insurance commissioner stands up for policyholders – not the insurance industry or a governor beholden to special interests.
- End Unfair Insurance Practices. Riddled with errors and fraught with the potential for abuse, insurers are using credit scoring, sub-county rating territories, and data mining to charge higher prices and deny coverage. Insurers should not be allowed to use factors that do not accurately reflect risk or that unfairly disadvantage certain policyholders.
- Simplify Policy Options. Consumers have no way to effectively shop the Texas insurance market because the spate of options are too complex and confusing to allow true consumer choice. To give consumers more control over their insurance decisions, lawmakers should streamline policy options so that consumers are able to effectively compare different options.
Texas Watch, the sponsor of the Fix Texas Insurance tour, will be taking the stories they hear and the information they gather from Texans all across the state to lawmakers in Austin. During the upcoming legislative session, Texas Watch and others will be pushing for insurance reforms that are designed to help consumers. For more information, visit www.FixTexasInsurance.org or www.TexasWatch.org.
The Fix Texas Insurance Tour is traveling by RV to every corner of the state, visiting 16 Texas cities to raise awareness about the influence the insurance industry has on the state legislature and the Texas Supreme Court and the need for common sense insurance reforms that include prior approval of insurance rates, making the insurance commissioner an elected position, and ending unfair insurance practices like credit scoring. Information about the tour has been posted online at www.FixTexasInsurance.org.
“At a time when Texas families are struggling to keep up with high fuel, food, and housing costs, Texas lawmakers have an opportunity to provide relief to homeowners by enacting real insurance reforms that lower rates,” said N. Alex Winslow, Executive Director of Texas Watch, a statewide citizens advocacy organization active on insurance and other consumer oriented issues. “During our three-week tour of the state, we will be talking with real Texans and providing real solutions that will benefit Texas homeowners and families.”
At nearly twice the national average, Texans continue to pay the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the nation – higher than Florida, Louisiana, California, and every other state in the union. Five years after lawmakers enacted so-called insurance “reform” (SB 14), premiums remain inflated and insurance industry losses have plummeted resulting in skyrocketing industry profits.
“Texas families are paying more for insurance and getting less,” said Winslow. “It is time for the legislature to tackle this issue once and for all by cracking down on out of control insurance companies through real oversight and enforcement.”
Texas Watch offered the following solutions for improving the insurance market for consumers:
- Streamlined Prior Approval. Instead of playing catch-up every time an insurance company unfairly raises rates, the insurance commissioner should be required to approve rates before they are imposed on Texas homeowners. This ensures that rates are fair before homeowners are forced to pay them – not after.
- Elect the Insurance Commissioner. The decisions made by the insurance commissioner affect the lives of every Texan, and all Texans should have a hand in choosing the person who is supposed to be looking out for our interests. We should make the insurance commissioner a statewide elected position so that he or she is directly responsible to Texas drivers, homeowners, patients, and small business owners. This guarantees that the insurance commissioner stands up for policyholders – not the insurance industry or a governor beholden to special interests.
- End Unfair Insurance Practices. Riddled with errors and fraught with the potential for abuse, insurers are using credit scoring, sub-county rating territories, and data mining to charge higher prices and deny coverage. Insurers should not be allowed to use factors that do not accurately reflect risk or that unfairly disadvantage certain policyholders.
- Simplify Policy Options. Consumers have no way to effectively shop the Texas insurance market because the spate of options are too complex and confusing to allow true consumer choice. To give consumers more control over their insurance decisions, lawmakers should streamline policy options so that consumers are able to effectively compare different options.
Texas Watch, the sponsor of the Fix Texas Insurance tour, will be taking the stories they hear and the information they gather from Texans all across the state to lawmakers in Austin. During the upcoming legislative session, Texas Watch and others will be pushing for insurance reforms that are designed to help consumers. For more information, visit www.FixTexasInsurance.org or www.TexasWatch.org.
 |
||
| Early Voting information |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of mywesttexas.com.
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog, however we reserve the right to delete any post we see that may be considered slanderous, excessive and/or foul language, or any post that we may deem inappropriate.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
News
Sports
Business
Entertain
Life
