AUSTIN - The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Board of Directors voted not to increase rates for residential and commercial policies at their Aug. 6 quarterly meeting. TWIA will submit the 0 percent rate change filing with the Texas Department of Insurance by Aug. 15, as required by statute.
In making their decision, the TWIA Board considered public comment from Association stakeholders and the 2019 rate adequacy analysis prepared by Association staff and, as required by state law, deliberated the decision publicly before voting to determine the amount of the rate filing, a press release states.
The Board’s decision was conditioned on reevaluating TWIA rates at a later date when more information is available.
John Polak, General Manager of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, said: “The TWIA Board of Directors takes seriously the impact of rising insurance costs when considering TWIA rate changes. As coastal communities continue to recover from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, the Board will continue to closely examine those concerns along with the importance of maintaining TWIA’s capacity to pay claims in the event of another storm like Harvey.”
The TWIA Board also voted to file a proposed increase to the Association’s maximum liability limits with the Texas Department of Insurance. State law requires a filing related to these limits, which apply to the maximum amount of coverage a policyholder can purchase from TWIA, by Sept. 30 of each year. This filing does not impact TWIA’s rates and is benchmarked as required by law to match publicly available construction cost index information.
The decisions came at a Board of Directors meeting in Galveston. More than 80 individuals attended the meeting where there was opportunity to provide public comment. TWIA also received more than 1,000 comments by e-mail on rates and on TWIA’s rate adequacy analysis, which were provided to the Board members for review in advance of their meeting.