Special Session for TWIA Reformation

Posted by on July 1, 2013 in Hurricane Awareness | Comments Off on Special Session for TWIA Reformation

texas state legislature, twia reform

A third special session might be held in September by Gov. Rick Perry for Texas representatives to iron out details regarding Texas Windstorm Insurance Association reform.

Senator Larry Taylor, Representative Todd Hunter and Representative David Bonnen are spearheading an overhaul of the TWIA, an idea overlooked in the second special session.

“While several of my bills to overhaul the funding and claims management mechanisms of TWIA were unsuccessful during the regular session, I am encouraged by the heightened recognition and desire to find a solution that protects coastal homeowners as the Legislature moves forward,” Bonnen said.

Taylor feels that the current funds for the 2013 hurricane season, totaling $2.7 billion, will not cover payouts and damages if a major storm were to hit the coast of Texas. He says that coastal cities should have enough capabilities for storms that it can reasonably respect.

Hunter’s reform of the TWIA offers different tiers for policyholders to provide funding for the agency.

“The Texas Coast, Houston is not in Tier 1, so your biggest areas are Brownsville, Galveston and Corpus Christi. They are not that rich in the area of being able to fund this stuff by themselves,” Hunter said. The tier system would have Tier 1 areas to pay the most to TWIA, and other tiers (mostly inland cities) would be able to pay less for their policy. Hunter says he is also calling on the Texas Commission of Insurance Julia Rathgeber for possible to permission to obtain more fund from private insurance companies.