Governor Abbott Directs TDI To Take Action To Make Property Insurance More Affordable

Governor Abbott Directs TDI To Take Action To Make Property Insurance More Affordable Governor Greg Abbott today directed the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) to take several actions that put consumers first and make property and casualty insurance more affordable for Texans who invest in their homes. “The average annual homeowners’ insurance premium in Texas has risen 79 percent in six years,” said Governor Abbott. “High insurance costs hit Texas families hard. Today I direct the Texas Department of Insurance to put consumers first and take action that makes property and casualty insurance more affordable.” Governor Abbott directed TDI to: Require insurers to include a home’s FORTIFIED roof status in their rate setting calculation to reduce the cost of insurance premiums Prohibit insurers from refusing to write or renew residential property insurance policies based on the age of the property, including individual components such as the age of the roof Issue a bulletin for all TDI-regulated products that bans the practice of “price optimization,” whereby insurers use personal data unrelated to insured risk to set prices Create an Insurance Fraud Task Force to clamp down on insur