Texas Watch—Consumer Protection. Corporate Accountability. Citizen Advocacy.

We’ve all heard the jingle: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” For over 11,000 homeowners policyholders in five counties along the Texas coast, nothing could be further from the truth. The state’s largest carrier has made the decision to pull up stakes and abandon these customers, many of them long-time and loyal, without even giving a rationale for their abrupt actions.

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When Texas lawmakers considered how to address the 2003 insurance crisis, the insurance industry whispered “trust us” in their ears. The promises from the industry were that deregulation would bring more companies into the market, which would in turn create more competition and choices for consumers, lowering prices. They continue to push this decade-old argument today.

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Tornadoes have ripped through North Texas, destroying homes and upending thousands of lives. Here are some tips for families and policyholders when dealing with their insurance company. Read More »

When we purchase insurance, we’re buying a promise on a piece of paper. We uphold our end of the bargain by paying our hard-earned dollars for premiums, and we expect that insurers will uphold their end by paying our claims if tragedy strikes. Too often, however, insurers betray the trust of vulnerable policyholders. Not content to just profit off of the gains they reap when they invest our premiums – using our money to fund their stock portfolio – insurers have turned claims into an additional profit center by using “delay, deny, and defend” tactics. These bad faith practices are an illegitimate and illegal way for insurance carriers to pick their policyholders’ pockets. Read More »

Home and auto insurers bombard us with slick ads telling us that we’re in good hands and that they’ll be there for us in our time of need – just like a good neighbor. When we are forced to buy insurance to drive legally on the road or to own a home, we think that we’re paying our hard-earned dollars for peace of mind. But the ugly truth is that deregulation has allowed insurance companies to carve up their policies over the last decade. We’re paying sky-high rates for junk policies that do not cover many of the perils you would expect. Read More »

The Texas Department of Insurance received an “F” from the State Integrity Investigation’s Public Corruption Scorecard, a 50-state survey of public institutions and their susceptibility to corruption.

“This report confirms what Texas policyholders have known for years: the insurance industry holds too much power and sway in our state,” said Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, a statewide citizens advocacy organization active on insurance issues. “Conflict of interest rules are weak and ineffective, the public doesn’t have access to crucial information, and TDI is an agency rife with political interference.” Read More »

Insurance customers deserve full, unfettered access to as much information as possible when it comes to how insurance companies attempt to justify their rates. However, many insurance companies want to shield this information from public view. The Texas Department of Insurance recently asked for input into ways to clarify what information included in insurance rate filings is subject to public disclosure. Texas Watch submitted the following comments. Read More »

The growing number of junk home and auto insurance policies with stripped down coverage and expanding deductibles has become a hot topic at the Capitol with lawmakers expressing frustration that prices keep rising and coverage keeps falling. In an effort to help consumers and lawmakers better understand this issue, Texas Watch submitted a 20-point open records request to the Texas Department of Insurance today seeking information about the coverage available in the market and how TDI makes decisions about insurance policies. Read More »