In more bad news for Texas coastal homeowners, TWIA (the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association) which is the last resort option for homeowners and businesses along the Gulf Coast, voted 6-3 to pass a 10% rate increase.
There was heavy pushback from the community at the board meeting in Galveston where the vote was held. State Senator Mayes Middleton said it's not right.
"I'm demanding that we not do this 10% rate increase" Middleton said at the podium, "We cannot afford it, people are not going to be able to afford to live and work on the Texas Gulf Coast."
Not unless they pay for all of the insurance. There's homeowners, flood, and wind. The TWIA 10% rate hike will come out to around $230 annually on the average premium. But the fight is not over yet.
State Representative Todd Hunter posted on X, that the TWIA board received over 1,000 emails that were against a rate hike, with just -4- in favor of it.
"The TWIA Board voted 6-3 to raise our rates, most of the 6 were related to the insurance industry" Hunter said on his video, "And we plan to fight it all the way. No rate hike at all."
An appeal will be filed with the Texas Department of Insurance.
The sad reality is, most insurance has gone up in Texas significantly over the last couple of years under the Biden administration.
"We're just at a time right now where inflation and weather, is all having a huge impact on the citizens of Texas right now" noted Richard Johnson, Director of communications, for the Insurance Council of Texas.