Proposed TWIA Law Smacks Hurricane Ike Claimants
Why do some elected representatives kick the people who voted for them and pander to insurance companies? Tina Nicholson forwarded me a bill that has passed the Texas Senate that guts all consumer protections for TWIA policyholders.
Here is the wording buried on page 41 of the bill (SB 14) that has now been sent to the Texas House of Representatives:
SECTION 41. Section 2210.552, Insurance Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2210.552. CLAIM DISPUTES; VENUE. (a) Except as provided by Sections 2210.007 and 2210.106, a person insured under this chapter who is aggrieved by an act, ruling, or decision of the association relating to the payment of, the amount of, or the denial of a claim may:
(1) bring an action for policy benefits against the association[
, including an action under Chapter 541]; or(2) appeal [
the act, ruling, or decision] under Section 2210.551.(b) The remedies provided by Subsection (a) and Section 2210.551 are exclusive. A person may not proceed under both Section 2210.551 and this section for the same act, ruling, or decision.
(c) Venue [
Except as provided by Subsection (d), venue] in an action brought under this section[, including an action under Chapter 541,] against the association is in the county in which the insured property is located or in a district court in Travis County.[
(d) Venue in an action, including an action under Chapter 541, brought under this section in which the claimant joins the department as a party to the action is only in a district court in Travis County.]
The consumer protections in Chapter 541 of the Insurance Code would be eliminated. No interest for delays, no costs, no extracontractual damages (even if caused by TWIA), no attorneys fees, and no penalties for TWIA's wrongful conduct. In essence, the Texas Senate proposed that TWIA not be held responsible when it acts wrongfully. In a world hurting as a result of corporate mismanagement, Texas is giving a pass to the insurance industry and TWIA.
We are going to do what we can for the policyholders and our clients in Texas. Off to Austin we go.
Any public or private suggestions or comments are welcome.
We need your help.
Where can we tell all our clients to email, phone ,load up a bus, protest, Throw rocks, something!
Some of our clients are pretty influential if we just get together as a group.
We are not helpless.
Please tell me how I can help our cause.
Guy,
We have been on the phone this morning trying to alert the media because the Senate suspended the Texas Constitutional rules which would have allowed review and public notice of this bill. I will post on this in a little.
What you can do is look up all the State House Representatives and State Senators that live along Coastal areas and send me a comment that I can post listing their email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses.
Then, you can ask your friends and clients to contact them as soon as possible. You can ask your local politicians to join in and help as well. They should and as leaders may have greater influence.
Real Estate Agents and those with lists of Clients should make their clients and extended friends aware of this proposed law and ask them to take time out of their day to call their House Representative in Austin about this bill.
If you are a registered Republican, call your state and local Republican party officials to voice your disgust over this bill. Business owners are especially influential with Republican Party officials where laws are made which harm businesses. Unless you are TWIA or an insurer, your business gets hurt by this measure.
If you are a Democrat, do the same--but this bill was a Republican Sponsored measure as I understand. I will more details later because I did not know about this until last night.
Go to Austin and ask to see the elected offficials so you can explain why this is wrong.
Call the Editors of your newspaper and television and ask them to cover this important issue.
Throwing rocks will get you in jail. Let's be productive. If you are going to get thrown in jail, do it with a sign on you in Austin with television cameras rolling so everybody will realize how horrible this legislation is.
Are these the only changes? (section of strikethru text above)
Nowducit,
No. The bill is over sixty pages long as I recall. There all kinds of provisions regarding the operation of TWIA which have been changed.
Buried on page 41, these changes were noted by Tina Nicholson. They may seem insignificant, unless one happens to check out what rights policyholders have in Chapter 541 of the Texas Code.
As I write this, I understand there is now a debate in the House Committee about the procedures of reading this legislation. Who on the outside knows what is going to happen, but there has been little open debate about TWIA legislation in the Texas legislature.
Laws made in secret are usually not good for the average person.
Chip
As a long time Texas coastal homeowner and one of the many who have been unfairly cheated by TWIA, this information is devastatingly sad.
I am amazed at the disregard my beloved Texas government is showing towards the people it is supposed to protect. The insurance industry as a whole are thieves and charlatans who have been slowly corrupting the system of laws that “we the people” put in place to protect ourselves from those who would do us harm.
This proposed legislation is just another example of that corruption. Unfortunately “we the people” are usually more interested in what’s on TV tonight than what crap our elected officials are cramming down our throats on behalf of some special interest group.
I will make as many people as I can aware of this and hope others will also.
Thank you for your efforts, they are part of the reason that I have chosen your firm and Tina Nicholson to represent me in my fight against TWIA.