Listen, we know North Texans are no strangers to severe weather. But it never hurts for a refresher course when storms are in the forecast, right?

That in mind, there are indeed a number of things you can do before storms arrive -- as well as during and after any severe weather -- to help make sure you're prepared for whatever Mother Nature may have in store.

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Registration is now open for the 2023 ICT/AFACT Property & Casualty Insurance Symposium, the premier insurance event in Texas. This year’s event features additional networking opportunities and a lineup of renowned speakers and panelists from around the country with a focus on economics, ESG and updates on what happened during the Texas legislative session.

For the first time, the Symposium will be in Dallas, TX and will take place at the Hilton Anatole, July 12-13. There is an Early Bird discount that will only be available through March 10. Group discounts are also available for companies that have five or more attendees.

REGISTRATION AND FULL AGENDA>>

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Ron Cobb. Ron was a friend to many and an industry leader who dedicated his life to his family, his faith, travel and honoring veterans.

From his obituary:

His family meant more to him than anything else in the world and he was unendingly proud of his five children and nine grandchildren. He made sure that each one had every opportunity available to them and he was very proud of that. Ron loved spending time with his family and set an example by being the one who always showed up, no matter what, whether a baby was born, a graduation, a holiday celebration, a birthday, soccer game, dance recital, etc. He often would say that family is the most important thing in the world, next to God. More importantly, he not only said that, but modeled it through his actions.

Ron will be remembered as a friend and colleague and a tireless advocate for the insurance industry. In 2013, he was the recipient of the ICT Raymond Mauk Award where he was recognized for his dedication to the insurance industry.   

FULL OBITUARY & SERVICE INFORMATION>>

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott outlined his priorities for the legislative session with an agenda to bolster the Texas economy, public safety and schools. Additionally, he included a list of ways to use the state’s historic budget surplus, including property tax cuts. He also mentioned additional priorities for education and school choice. 

READ A FULL ANALYSIS FROM THE TEXAS TRIBUNE>>

The TWIA Board of Directors met on Feb. 14 in Galveston for their quarterly meeting. Ahead of the meeting, ICT together with AFACT, TCAIS, APCIA, and NAMIC, submitted a letter to the Board expressing concern with the decision made at their Jan. 19 meeting to use the lower 1:100 PML of $4.5 billion combined with their instructions to TWIA's reinsurance broker Gallagher Re to pursue $2.92 billion in reinsurance to bring the Association's funding up to the recommended 1:100 PML of $5.2 billion and pass along the "excess" reinsurance cost through company assessments. The letter can be read here.

During the meeting the Board clarified the direction made at its Jan. 19 meeting and asked staff to determine the cost of reinsurance coverage from the 1:100 PML of $4.5 billion to $5.2 billion and inform the Board of the cost at a future meeting. The Board also voted to appoint Jim Murphy, the Association’s Chief Actuary and Vice President of Enterprise Analytics, as the Association’s Appointed Actuary. TWIA Board Chair Chandra Franklin Womack announced that the Commissioner of Insurance has appointed Esther Grossman of Homeowners of America Insurance Company to fill an industry representative vacancy on the TWIA Board. She will begin her duties after completing the statutorily required training for TWIA Board members. Members can read a full recap by logging into  ICT's InfoHub. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION>>

The Governing Committee of the Texas FAIR Plan held its quarterly meeting in Galveston on Feb. 13.  The Governing Committee heard updates from staff on the required rate filing made to TDI on Dec. 22, legislation filed on the FAIR Plan, and updates on the adjustments of limits of liability. Members can read a full recap in ICT's InfoHub. 

MEETING INFORAMTION AND RECORDINGS>>

The Commissioner of Insurance will consider amendments that the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA), the insurer of last resort for auto, has filed to its Texas Plan of Operation. The proposed changes include:

• Changing the membership of the Governing Committee to delete the position of an unaffiliated insurer as a member of the Governing Committee, since they have found that there are fewer insurers that are not affiliated with one of the trade associations named in the Plan that appoint an insurer member to the Governing Committee.
• Expands options for member carriers when a member insurer stops writing auto liability insurance, including the option of entering into a contract with a servicing carrier to take assignments it would otherwise be required to take.

TDI is accepting written comments on the proposed amendments until March 15, 2023. If you have any feedback, please contact Angie Cervantes at acervantes@insurancecouncil.org.

Read more about the proposed filing here.

According to a new report published by Nature.com, climate change impacts threaten the stability of the US housing market. In response to growing concerns that increasing costs of flooding are not fully captured in property values, we quantify the magnitude of unpriced flood risk in the housing market by comparing the empirical and economically efficient prices for properties at risk. We find that residential properties exposed to flood risk are overvalued by US$121–US$237 billion, depending on the discount rate. In general, highly overvalued properties are concentrated in counties along the coast with no flood risk disclosure laws and where there is less concern about climate change.

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 According to a recent report by McKinsey, the global commercial property and casualty (P&C) lines have delivered strong financial performance in recent years following the soft market of 2013 to 2018, despite widespread disruption in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the resulting supply chain disruptions. Premiums have been propelled by extensive year-on-year risk-adjusted rate hardening: the annual premium growth rate for commercial P&C lines has hovered at 6 to 8 percent since 2018, and combined ratios have been improving.

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Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp will offer software upgrades to 8.3 million U.S. vehicles to help curb increasing car thefts using a method popularized on TikTok and other social media channels, the Korean automakers said last week.

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