{"id":23497,"date":"2025-05-09T16:31:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T16:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=823229"},"modified":"2025-05-09T16:31:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T16:31:00","slug":"texas-legislators-seek-solutions-to-rising-home-insurance-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2025\/05\/09\/texas-legislators-seek-solutions-to-rising-home-insurance-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Legislators Seek Solutions to Rising Home Insurance Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-trends-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/southcentral\/2025\/05\/09\/823229.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/southcentral\/2025\/05\/09\/823229.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">1 Comment<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>Texas lawmakers hope to rein in homeowners\u2019 rising insurance bills even as they acknowledge there\u2019s only so much they can do to tackle costs.<\/p>\n<p>Legislators have advanced bills to limit how much insurance companies can hike rates and help homeowners make their homes more insurable. They\u2019ve also sought to compel insurers to be more upfront with homeowners when they decide to yank coverage, or deny it in the first place.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-topics=\"homeowners,pricing-trends,trends\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>Texans pay some of the highest insurance premiums in the country. On average, Texas homeowners saw their insurance rates spike by double digits in recent years \u2014 a far cry from the previous decade when such increases were unheard of. Homeowners\u2019 insurance rates climbed by nearly 19% in 2024, according to the Texas Department of Insurance, slightly down from more than 21% the previous year.<\/p>\n<p>A number of factors have spurred insurance costs in recent years, insurance experts say. For one, property values in Texas surged amid the state\u2019s population boom \u2014 raising the cost to ensure homes and businesses. Climate change has intensified extreme weather events like hailstorms, hurricanes, and winter freezes and made severe weather more common. With the state\u2019s population growth, more people have moved into the path of that severe weather. Higher labor and construction material costs have driven up the cost of repairing damage when severe weather events damage a home.<\/p>\n<p>Buying homeowners insurance isn\u2019t an optional cost. Lenders require homebuyers to purchase insurance to obtain a mortgage. Even if a home is paid off, insurance experts say it\u2019s unwise to go without coverage in case disaster strikes.<\/p>\n<p>Even as lawmakers look for ways to tackle the insurance crisis, they acknowledge many of the drivers of insurance costs are beyond lawmakers\u2019 control, they say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t control the weather, we can\u2019t control inflation,\u201d state Rep. Tom Oliverson, a Cypress Republican behind one such proposal, told a House committee last month. \u201cI can\u2019t control the availability of building materials, and I can\u2019t control how the houses that are already built were built, what standard they were built to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And they find themselves in the position of trying to rein in exorbitant insurance costs without scaring off insurers and cratering the state\u2019s insurance market.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-topics=\"homeowners,pricing-trends,trends\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>One proposal by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, aims to give policyholders a check against steep rate increases. In Texas, insurers can file proposed rate increases with the Texas Department of Insurance, the state\u2019s insurance regulator, and implement the new rates right away. If the agency later decides the increase is unreasonable, they can disapprove it.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Bill 1643, which has cleared the Senate but awaits a committee hearing in the House, would require the insurance department to approve any rate increase above 10% before it can go into effect.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs companies make significant rate changes, it is incumbent upon the Legislature to ensure that the regulatory environment is giving these filings the level of scrutiny they necessitate,\u201d Schwertner said ahead of a Senate vote on the bill in April.<\/p>\n<p>That proposal has drawn pushback from the insurance industry. Capping rate increases does nothing to address the underlying drivers of the rising cost of providing insurance, said Beaman Floyd, who heads the Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions, a group that represents major insurance companies including Allstate, State Farm and USAA. Insurers might pursue lower rate increases than they otherwise would have if they worry regulators wouldn\u2019t approve larger ones, Floyd said \u2014 leaving them with mounting financial liabilities that could lead to policy cancellations because insurers can\u2019t afford to provide coverage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not good for consumers,\u201d Floyd said.<\/p>\n<p>Requiring the state insurance regulator to review rate increases above 10% doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the regulator will automatically reject those increases, Schwertner said in a statement. The bill \u201csimply seeks to curb unchecked rate filing and review practices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Consumer advocates argue the state\u2019s current system doesn\u2019t provide a real check on insurers \u2014 one that Schwertner\u2019s proposal could theoretically help create. But they also worry insurers will thwart the intent of the law simply by asking for multiple rate increases, a practice the bill doesn\u2019t cap. Ware Wendell, executive director of the consumer rights group Texas Watch, posited that an insurer could theoretically file a 9% increase one month and seek the same increase the next month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInsurance companies could come in and nibble,\u201d Wendell said.<\/p>\n<p>The Texas Department of Insurance would still require insurers to justify their rate increases even if they filed multiple increases a year, Schwertner said. If those increases aren\u2019t justified, the state could still reject the increase, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Insurers and consumer groups agree on some proposals. House Bill 1576, authored by Oliverson, would create a state grant program to help homeowners retrofit their homes to withstand hurricanes and windstorms, modeled after a similar program in Alabama. The idea is that insurers will be more likely to insure a home if it\u2019s hardened against severe weather, and the cost of insuring that home will be lower.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a very unique way for us to basically drive the cost of insurance down by encouraging folks \u2014 not mandating, this isn\u2019t a mandate \u2014 to rebuild your home to a higher standard that experiences less risk and less cost,\u201d Oliverson told the House Insurance Committee in April.<\/p>\n<p>That bill cleared the House late last month. The Senate has yet to take action. How much money the state would spend on the program depends on the bill clearing both chambers, and on the outcome of budget negotiations between the House and Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers have considered other ideas. The state insurance department is overseen by a single commissioner appointed by the governor. Another Schwertner proposal would expand that to three commissioners, one of which would be required to have expertise in consumer advocacy. Lawmakers have also advanced bills to prevent insurers from forcing consumers seeking homeowners insurance to also purchase auto insurance, and to require insurers to actively disclose why they may deny coverage to homeowners or cancel their policies.<\/p>\n<p>Disclosure: Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions and USAA have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/05\/09\/texas-legislature-homeowners-insurance\/.<\/p>\n<p>The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/trends\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Trends<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/location\/texas\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Texas<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/pricing-trends\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Pricing Trends<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/homeowners\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Homeowners<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"823229\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.<\/p>\n<p> <textarea placeholder=\"Enter your feedback...\"><\/textarea> <button type=\"submit\" class=\"submit\" disabled>Submit<\/button> <button class=\"cancel\">No Thanks<\/button> <\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-yes\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! <span class=\"percent\"><\/span>% of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it.<\/p>\n<p> <textarea placeholder=\"Enter your feedback...\"><\/textarea> <button type=\"submit\" class=\"submit\" disabled>Submit<\/button> <button class=\"cancel\">No Thanks<\/button> <\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-more-articles\">\n<p class=\"thank-you-text\">Here are more articles you may enjoy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"subscribe-banner subscribe-banner-in-content-2\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<h4>Interested in <em>Homeowners<\/em>?<\/h4>\n<p>Get automatic alerts for this topic.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article 1 Comment Texas lawmakers hope to rein in homeowners\u2019 rising insurance bills even as they acknowledge there\u2019s only so much they can do to tackle costs. Legislators have advanced bills to limit how&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[1,77,1448,1449],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/texas-legislators-seek-solutions-to-rising-home-insurance-rates.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23497"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}