Declarations

Issues Addressed

“This legislation addresses a number of issues that have made it tough for insurance companies to remain engaged along the Texas coast, making it difficult for citizens to get the windstorm coverage they need and exerting upward pressure on insurance premiums across the state.”

—Texas Gov. Rick Perry, upon signing House Bill 4409, which mandates reforms for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). Most notably, the bill allows up to $2.5 billion in TWIA losses to be funded through various methods, including premiums, reserves, public securities, commercial paper and other market source financial instruments. The legislation also allows TWIA to set variable rates among different rating territories.

Taking Care of Their Own

“We need to fulfill our own responsibility before we ask others to do more.”

—Louisiana State Rep. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans. Peterson is co-sponsor of a measure that would require Louisiana to increase its own emergency shelter space by upgrading public buildings, such as schools or government sites, to house more hurricane evacuees. Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration pushed the proposal as a way to save millions in evacuee transport money and to avoid the annual negotiating with other states over whether they can take in Louisiana’s evacuees. Senate Bill 279 was approved by the Legislature before it adjourned on June 25.

Hunkering Down

“The decline in the number of customers shopping and switching insurance providers may in part be due to the current economic situation, as many customers are employing a hunker-down mentality. Most customers would prefer to hold tight to their current provider, which they already know, rather than risk trying a new provider, particularly amid negative coverage surrounding a number of insurance providers recently.”

—Jeremy Bowler, of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates, on his firm’s study showing that fewer insurance customers are shopping for another insurance provider —28 percent, compared to 36 percent in 2008. Across the industry, 90 percent of auto insurance customers are staying with their current provider, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Insurance Shopping Study.