White on home insurance reform

Since Rick Perry has been in office home insurance rates have soared. Perry and State Representative Larry Taylor have carried the industry's jock strap for the last 10 years leaving us with the highest rates in the nation with little if any effective oversight.

I remember when Perry issued a press release in 2002 just before the election:

"In too many cases, homeowner's insurance is getting more expensive, coverage is becoming harder to get, and instead of more companies stepping up to meet the demand, some companies have stopped writing comprehensive policies altogether."

So what happened 8 years later? Insurance is more expensive (twice the national average), coverage has been cut, and deductibles are out the roof. One of the biggest giveaways was the repeal of the requirement to obtain prior approval before raising rates. Now it is called a "file and use" system where the companies file their rate increases with Texas Department of Insurance and abuse the consumers with higher rates.

White has called for a return to the prior approval system which many in the Legislature has talked about (and nothing else) From the Houston Chronicle:

"Homeowner's insurance rates are squeezing the savings of Texas families. As governor, I'd require homeowner's insurance companies to prove why any rate increase is needed before I'd permit it," said White in a news release. "Under Perry, if they want your money they can have it. I'd put a stop to that."

"This is a common sense approach that's worked in states all over the country," White said of prior approval. "Perry said he'd fix homeowner's insurance costs in 2002. It's been eight years, and he hasn't."

White is right about the state of the insurance industry. It isn't very funny unless you read what State Representative Dwayne Bohac said about passing massive insurance reform in 2003:

"The new law will mark the beginning of the end of insurance abuse in Texas.  All rates must be just, fair, reasonable, adequate, not confiscatory, not excessive, and not unfairly discriminatory."

Yea right. Texas has the highest rates in the nation. Nice work Bohac, Perry, and Taylor.