Lawmakers to tackle soaring home insurance rates
Top state lawmakers plan to address soaring homeowners insurance premiums when they return to Austin in January for the next legislative session, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The state’s insurance commissioner, Cassie Brown, told a Senate committee that home insurance rates increased last year by more than 21% statewide, twice the average increase in 2022.
More severe and frequent disasters are blamed for the spike in rates. In addition to more severe and more frequent storms, higher home values and higher costs for construction and labor are also factors. The median home price in Texas has risen 40% in the past five years.
“All this new value needs coverage, which results in bigger bills for consumers,” Brown said.
Lawmakers reportedly will consider changes to the state’s file-and-use system, which allows insurance companies to raise rates and then seek regulatory approval. Brown said the Texas Department of Insurance reviews all rate filings but “rarely” disapproves any of them.
“If we tighten up the criteria that you have to look at in order to approve their rates — I would expect that if it’s harder to get a rate increase approval, that would help Texans with their premiums on their insurance,” state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, said.
Texas has
more than 18
million
registered voters
Texas has hit a high-water mark with more than 18 million registered voters. The voter registration rolls are growing at a faster pace than the population’s growth, indicating increased interest in signing up to vote. The Chronicle reported the state has added nearly 2.6 million voters since 2018.
Most of the growth has come in Harris County and along the I-35 corridor, areas that tend to vote more Democratic. While Republicans have not lost a statewide race in 30 years, results are getting tighter.
“We are in a competitive state and we are not going to win just sitting on our laurels,” said Dave Carney, a veteran Republican strategist who has been a key political adviser to Gov. Greg Abbott and former Gov. Rick Perry.
Texas leads nation in road rage shootings
A newsroom dedicated to reporting on gun violence reports Texas is leading the country in road rage shootings, according to data from 2014 through 2023.
The Austin American-Statesman reported on the findings by The Trace, which concluded the number of people shot in road rage incidents surged over 400% during that time period, with 456 shooting incidents reported last year.
Two Texas cities topped the list of road rage shootings during that 10-year period. Houston reported 215 total incidents with 192 shootings and 207 victims shot, while San Antonio reported 107 total incidents with 83 shootings and 94 victims shot.
During that 10-year period in Texas, 146 people were shot and killed in road rage incidents, while 435 were wounded. In addition, 26 suspects were killed and 14 wounded.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span.
, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com.