Press Release: The Blue Tarp Bills (SB 10 and HB 1774)
Ware Wendell, Executive Director of Texas Watch, released the following statement in response to the filing of SB 10 & HB 1774 (i.e., the "Blue Tarp Bills"):
Ware Wendell, Executive Director of Texas Watch, released the following statement in response to the filing of SB 10 & HB 1774 (i.e., the "Blue Tarp Bills"):
Ware Wendell, Executive Director of Texas Watch, released the following statement in response to Governor Abbott’s State of the State remarks concerning insurance litigation:
Texas Watch has released a one-stop resource for those wishing to learn more about the fight to preserve policyholder protections. Ware Wendell, Executive Director of Texas Watch, released the following statement:
The 85th Legislative Session is here and we’re ready for the fight. We’re ready to make a stand to preserve policyholder protections, make our roads safer, and protect consumers.
Thanks to your support last session, we were able to beat back insurance lobbyists’ efforts to rob Texas policyholders of their vital legal protections. Now, insurance lobbyists are coming back for your rights.
You have just been involved in a car wreck. Your car is destroyed. You are hurting and disoriented. After you exchange insurance information with the other driver, take photos of the damage, gather witness information, and get to the doctor, what comes next? Often the other driver's insurance company calls wanting a recorded statement from you.
On October 5th, the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee will meet to discuss a Texas Department of Insurance report on weather-related claims. But, some consumer advocates are concerned that the one-sided report could be used against Texas families and businesses. We talked to Texas Watch’s Executive Director Ware Wendell about his concerns on the biases within the report.
You can tell the Senate committee to preserve policyholder protections here.
On October 5th, the Senate Business & Commerce Committee will meet to discuss weather-related litigation in Texas. While industry insiders will testify before the committee and spin the anti-policyholder message pushed throughout the last legislative session and the interim, a key voice is being left out of the legislative process: Texas policyholders.
Since uncovering the insurance industry ploy to force consumers with disputes into the biased, secret process of arbitration, Texas Watch has fought hard to preserve policyholders' legal protections.
UPDATE: The Texas Department of Insurance announced this November that it will not be approving the dangerous arbitration provision. This summer, you and thousands of Texas policyholders signed the petition to keep the kangaroo court of arbitration out of Texas insurance policies. Your efforts helped preserve the vital legal rights of Texas families and businesses. But, the fight is not over. Help us defeat insurance lobbyists once again by signing this petition.
Dealing with your insurance company is hard enough. Now, insurance lobbyists want to make it even harder for policyholders get their claims paid in full and on time. Their latest scheme would force policyholders into the biased, secretive process of arbitration, a kangaroo court where the decision maker is chosen and paid for by the insurance company.