The Insurance Council of Texas is offering winter preparation tips for your home ahead of the artic blast expected this weekend. They said being prepared is crucial to minimize risks and ensure adequate insurance coverage.

As the temperature drops, the risk for damage to homes rises.

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Texas insurance rate increases are slowing, but coverage is available. Some states, like California, Colorado, and Florida, are seeing companies leave their states. This puts consumers in a tough spot - sometimes, they need help to get coverage. Home and auto insurance are both seeing this phenomenon.

Rich Johnson, Director of Communications for the Insurance Council of Texas, says Texans will continue to have many options for insurance carriers and coverages. Consumers will see higher premiums, but coverage will be available, and the risk of carriers leaving the state is low. Johnson thinks that the rate of increase in premiums is slowing, too.

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Temperatures projected to dip below freezing have residents gearing up to protect pets, plants, property and themselves.

"The most important thing is to wrap those exterior pipes. Any water line that you have on the outside of your home that is exposed will be the first point to freeze," says Texas Water Utilities Sr. Vice president of Operations, Eric Sabolsice.

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In August of last year, information was shared regarding the forthcoming modifications in TWIA procedures resulting from decisions made by the Texas Legislature and their implications for interactions with TWIA.

Regular updates on the progress of these legislative changes will be provided, along with supplementary resources and training sessions throughout the year.

For the most recent information on these laws and what to anticipate in 2024, you can find more information here.

DWC held its insurance carrier quarterly meeting on Jan. 10, 2024. Commissioner Jeff Nelson provided a summary of DWC's achievements in 2023 and an overlook of what they anticipate in 2024, including holding their annual workers' compensation virtually this year and adopting rules regarding reimbursement for designated doctors. 

ICT members can read the full recap provided by ICT's workers' compensation counsel, Burns Anderson Jury & Brenner, L.L.P. here. 

TDI adopted amendments to 28 TAC Section 5.4211 regarding establishing a period for the TWIA appraisal process. These amendments implement HB 3310, which passed during the 88th legislative session and required TDI (with advice from TWIA) to adopt rules establishing the period in which a TWIA appraisal must be completed. The bill was part of TWIA's biennial recommendations to the 88th legislature. The rule was adopted without any changes, and TDI received one comment from OPIC supporting the proposal.

Read the adoption order here.

TDI has proposed the new 28 TAC Section 5.208 regarding terminology describing transportation-related incidents. Section 5.208 implements HB 2190, passed during the 88th legislative session, and changed the term "accident" to "collision" in various codes, including the Insurance Code. The proposed new section clarifies that the changes made by HB 2190 do not change the meaning of the term "accident."

TDI notes that since there is no substantive change to the meaning of the term "accident," as currently used in many policy forms, insurers do not need to file updated policy forms.

Read the full proposal here. TDI will consider comments until Feb. 12. 

If you have any feedback, please email Angie Cervantes by Feb. 5.

HB 998, passed during the 88th legislative session, authorized the FAIR Plan to make property owners' association insurance available if the commissioner finds underserved areas in a designated area. TDI is seeking input as they contemplate changes to the plan of operation for the FAIR Plan to implement this bill. HB 998 requires that the FAIR Plan begin offering property owners' association insurance starting Sep. 1, 2024.

TDI will amend 28 TAC, Chapter 5, Subchapter T, to designate an area where the FAIR Plan may make property owners' associations available if some or all of that area is underserved, outline a process by which interested parties can petition to have an area determined as underserved, and set the maximum limits of liability. TDI lists specific feedback questions, including input on the designated area. TDI accepts comments until Feb. 7.

If you have any feedback on the TDI's questions that you would like ICT to consider submitting, please email Angie Cervantes by Jan. 31.

After Allstate suffered billions of dollars in losses and failed to get the rate increases it wanted, it resorted to the nuclear option.

Last fall, the insurance giant threatened to stop renewing auto insurance for customers in three states that hadn’t given in to its demands, which would have left those policyholders scrambling for coverage. The states blinked.

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There’s no relief for US car owners who’ve faced soaring costs of maintaining a vehicle in the past two years.

Prices of motor vehicle insurance rose 20.3% in December from a year earlier, the biggest jump since 1976, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was the 16th straight month of annual gains exceeding 10%. And insurance rates will probably keep on rising, propelled by higher costs of replacement parts and repairs, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said last month. 

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On an early Sunday morning in July, Wendell Link of Coppell watched his neighbor’s house burn down. Link ran to his car and drove it out of the way of crews from three area fire stations.

Walking back, he noticed that embers from the fire were landing on his roof, as were massive amounts of hosed water. The heat was melting his windows, siding, and gutter, too.

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