The ICT Board of Directors recently welcomed Chris Merideth as the representative of Farmers Insurance. Chris has been with Farmers since 2003, when he joined the claims department. Since 2008, he has been in political advocacy and legislative affairs where he represents Farmers in front of legislative and regulatory bodies in thirteen states. His passion is for grassroots advocacy and making sure Farmers and the industry has a voice at the Capitol. Chris replaces Frank Galitski, who retired in 2022.

The 88th Texas Legislature convenes at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 10 for its regular session. The session runs for 140 days. Dates of interest for the session can be found here. Issues that are expected to be at the forefront include property tax relief, immigration, and what to do with an unprecedented budget surplus of at

least $32.7 billion. ICT has already begun tracking hundreds of bills filed that may impact property and casualty. We will keep you updated on key bills and issues as they arise during the session. 

P&C Issues this Session (Member login Needed) >>

The Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA) has filed a request for a 5% increase in private passenger and commercial auto rates. TAIPA is the insurer of last resort for auto, with less than 1% of the personal passenger vehicles and few commercial vehicles insured by them. The rate filing memo cites economic conditions and inflation as contributing to the need for this filing. 

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DWC has adopted the Medical Quality Review CY23 Annual Audit Plan, which sets the priorities for medical quality review audits during the upcoming year. This includes the scope, methodology, selection criteria, and program area responsibilities described in the Medical Quality Review Process. ICT's comments can be found here. (Member login required).

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TWIA’s Board of Directors will meet on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. CT to consider a recommendation and determine the 1:100 PML from the Actuarial & Underwriting Committee, which meets on January 11.

TWIA’s catastrophe modeling vendor, Aon, will also present information on the 2023 catastrophe model results and be available to answer questions to help the Board make their decision as well as their reinsurance broker, Gallagher Re. ICT's comments can be found here. 

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What would you do with $900? Most people would spend it, worsen inflation and have nothing to show for it in a year. In his amusing analysis, Texas Monthly’s Russell Gold suggests a Caribbean cruise for every Texan. Can we trust our lawmakers to invest it more wisely?

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When the Legislature is in session, the lives of every Texan will be affected

Corpus Christi Caller Times

The Texas Capitol is about to move a little closer to just about every home and business in the state. Not literally. After all, the 135-year-old building is 302 feet tall and occupies hundreds of thousands of square feet.

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Texas Releases Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates for 2023

Bloomberg (Subscription)

Texas released its 2023 unemployment insurance tax rates in a Jan. 6 update on the state workforce commission’s website.

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