Costal Windstorm Insurance Coalition

A beautiful sight:
Representatives from the Sabine River to the Rio Grande, including County Judges, Mayors, Council Members, Chamber of Commerce officials, and many dedicated citizens gathered on the South steps of the magnificent Texas Capitol Tuesday, May 5, 2009 to demonstrate that the Texas Coast IS Texas, just as much as any other region of this great state.

Senators and Representatives addressed the crowd, applauding them for taking their day and exerting the effort to come to Austin in person, to leave no doubt about their convictions and the importance of windstorm insurance.  The Legislators assured their constituents that they would spare no effort to assure Fair, Affordable, Available Windstorm Insurance to the people, in the face of the continuing and substantial abandonment of its customers by Texas licensed Insurance Companies.

Deadlines affecting bills not reported out of Committee are narrowing the field of bills which can still become law this session.  The two main bills which remain viable are:

SB 1007, Sen. Hegar, Katy [HB 2233, Isett, Lubbock, companion bill] has passed the Senate, and is ‘pending’ in the House Insurance Committee.  This bill is the Texas Department of Insurnace ’Sunset’ bill, so it is relatively certain to pass.  Several TWIA provisions were swept into the TDi bill, including:

a.) changes to qualify TWIA for federal ’tax exempt’ status [the only 'good' part]; b.) requirement of 2 insurer  ’declinations’ annually to obtain a TWIA policy; c.) ‘Firing’ TDI and giving TWIA the job of ‘toughening’ and conducting building code inspection and certification; d.) [slipped in apparently unnoticed] a providion which would recharacterize reinsurance as ‘operating expense’, setting the scene to ‘double charge’ for part of its cost in TWIA rates–unless it can be amended before passing the House..

SB 14 Sen. Fraser, Horseshoe Bay; has been negotiated in the Senate to remove most of its punitive ’surcharges’, [having no actuarial basis, would have added up to 100% for some properties].  It retains, however, its original provisions which would change the nature of TWIA from its real purpose: a state provided market for property owners abandoned by their Texas licensed Insurance Company.  TWIA would become an adversary contesting Texans access to and affordability of the  last remaining source of windstorm insurance–without which the Coastal Economy will stagnate, to the detriment of the State of Texas. Encourage your Senator and Representative to change this bill completely before it passes the House.

Visit your CWIC website: www.cwictx.org to find a list of key House and Senate members, and the Senate passed version of SB 14.

For CWIC Lee Otis “Otie” Zapp, Jr. 5/14/09