Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business
HOUSTON, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on July 15 outlined a legislative proposal aimed at reducing home and auto insurance costs, saying Texans have repeatedly identified rising insurance premiums as a major financial concern.
Speaking at the home of Jan Southern, who hosted the event, Abbott said that while traveling across Texas to discuss property tax relief, he also heard consistent concerns about insurance costs.
“Home insurance and auto insurance are equally skyrocketing, and Texans were demanding relief,” Abbott said.
Abbott said Texas has some of the highest home insurance costs in the nation because of frequent severe weather. He said the state ranks first in the United States for hail damage and hail insurance claims and also faces hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes and damaging winds.
According to Abbott, those weather-related risks lead to higher insurance claims, which in turn increase premiums for homeowners.
To address the issue, Abbott proposed creating a roof fortification grant program modeled after programs adopted in states including North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kentucky. He said fortified roofs are better able to withstand hail and wind damage, reducing insurance claims.
Abbott said states that have implemented similar programs have seen “about an 8% reduction in premiums” and savings of “more than $15,000” over the life of a roof.
Under his proposal, homeowners would receive grants of about $10,000 to strengthen their roofs. Abbott said the Texas Legislature would review similar programs in other states to determine whether that amount is appropriate before appropriating funding.
He also said experience in other states shows that homeowners often choose to pay for roof fortification themselves after seeing neighboring homes with fortified roofs withstand storms with little or no damage.
During a question-and-answer session, Abbott said fortified roofs would reduce insurance claims by limiting damage from hurricanes, derechos (Sustained straight-line winds of at least 58 mph (93 km/h) over a long distance), hail and other severe weather, helping insurance companies remain financially stable while offering lower-cost coverage. He noted that some specialized insurance policies, particularly along the Gulf Coast, would still be necessary because hurricanes can cause damage beyond roofs, including flooding and water damage.
Abbott also proposed changing Texas law governing auto insurance pricing.
Abbott said Texas currently does not allow insurance companies to consider moving violations when calculating premiums. He said he wants to change the law so insurers can use drivers’ records when setting rates.
“The fact of the matter is, if you do well in life, if you follow the rules and are successful, you should be rewarded for it,” Abbott said.
Responding to a question, Abbott said current law prevents insurers from recognizing safe driving records when determining premiums.
“There are people with no accidents, no tickets, great driving records. Current Texas law prohibits insurance companies from seeing your safe driving record and lowering your insurance cost,” Abbott said. “This will change that Texas law.”
Abbott said insurance industry estimates indicate the proposed change could reduce some auto insurance premiums by as much as 30%.
He said combining the proposed home and auto insurance reforms would produce “at a minimum hundreds of dollars a year, more likely thousands of dollars a year in savings to homeowners and auto owners in the state of Texas.”
