State of Neglect: Homeowners pay higher insurance premiums, yet many policies limited

[babylonsister]

State of Neglect: Homeowners pay higher insurance premiums, yet many policies limited

12:14 AM CST on Sunday, February 15, 2009

By JENNIFER LaFLEUR and ED TIMMS / The Dallas Morning News
[e-mail]


Six years since a crisis in homeowners insurance compelled legislators to make sweeping reforms, many Texans have less coverage but still pay some of the highest premiums in the country.

More than a million Texas homeowners have bare-bones policies that don't completely cover damage. Coverage that once was routine no longer exists in many policies. Policies that cover fewer risks or pay less have supplanted many that offered full coverage.

And state oversight occurs in a political environment in which industry lobbyists and campaign contributions are prevalent.

While coverage diminished, Texas routinely ranked among the leaders in average premiums. Statistics from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners show the average annual Texas premium – the nation's highest – is $1,372. That's 80 percent more than the national average.

Other catastrophe-prone states fill out the top rankings: Louisiana takes second place at $1,144 a year, with Florida a distant third.

"The industry is really making money on both ends," said Alex Winslow, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Texas Watch. "They're reducing coverage so they have less exposure and less risk, and they're charging at least as much as they were before the reduction in coverage."

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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/longterm/stories/021509dnproson4insurancemain.12599daf.html

[tbyg52]

1. Gotta love deregulation. nt

[johncoby2]

2. this is a non issue

no one really cares about it. There is no outrage. Nothing.