Windstorm insurance changes

If you live near the coast, get ready to pay more for windstorm insurance.

Coastal residents insured by the state windstorm fund could see increases of 5 percent per year for the next three years under a bill passed Thursday by the Senate.

The vote to send the bill to the House was 27-4. One senator who voted against it said the rate increases are still too much for residents rebuilding from Hurricane Ike.

"I was very concerned about the impact the bill would have on the coastal communities. They've been hit hard and many are struggling to recover," said Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston.

But the bill author, Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said the Legislature has to do something to build up the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, which was depleted by Hurricanes Ike and Dolly last year.

"Currently, TWIA has $68 billion in coverage written along the entire Texas coast and there is zero money in the reserve fund. This exposure is rapidly expanding as more residents and businesses seek windstorm coverage from TWIA," Fraser said.

TWIA provides coverage to homeowners and businesses in 14 coastal counties and a part of Harris County who can't find it elsewhere.

I can appreciate Sen. Huffman's concern, but I can also imagine how her vote might have gone had this not directly affected her constituents. I mean, it's ultimately the taxpayers who are subsidizing the TWIA. Shouldn't those who choose to live along the coast pay a bigger share of that cost? All a matter of perspective, I suppose. Burkablog and Postcards have more.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on May 04, 2009 to Hurricane Katrina