Homer calls for government accountability
March 5th, 2009
The Paris News
Representative Mark Homer, D-Paris, had a public hearing Wednesday for HB 173, which provides for the election of the Texas Commissioner of Insurance, currently an appointed position.
The Homer bill is widely regarded as landmark legislation and joins numerous other insurance reform bills that have been filed this session.
“This is about accountability and good government. Currently we elect the Commissioner of Agriculture, Land Commissioner, Attorney General, Controller of Public Accounts and three Railroad Commissioners. Why should the Insurance Commissioner be any different,” Homer said. “Decisions that the Insurance Commissioner makes affect Texans’ lives and pocketbooks as much as those of any elected official in our state.”
The average price of home-owners insurance in Texas is about 58 percent higher than in Florida, which is also one of the higher priced states.
According to Forbes magazine, the average homeowners insurance in Texas was $1,238. Between January of 2003 and September of 2005, the average Texas Homeowner’s premium dropped by 4.8 percent (from $1,290 to $1,238). During that same period, industry loss per policy fell by 68.6 percent (from $1,177 to $369 per policy).
At the end of 2005, there was a bump in industry losses due to Hurricane Rita, but the numbers remain heavily skewed in the industry’s favor. Based on premiums collected in 2006 from the report released by NAIC, the average annual premium for homeowner’s insurance policies in Texas was $1,409 per year.
“Texans paid the highest homeowner insurance rates in the nation before anyone ever heard of ‘black mold,’ then they increased even more,” Homer said. “We need an insurance commissioner who is accountable to the consumers — not the bureauocrats, not another official and certainly not the industry — the consumers. The best way to achieve that accountability is through the democratic process.”
For more information on this or any other issue, Homer encourages interested individuals to contact his office at 512-463-0650, e-mail him at mark.homer(at)house.state.tx.us or visit the State of Texas website at www.texasonline.com.