A change in homeowners’ insurance regulation passed by the 78th Texas Legislature goes into effect in December 2004. Because it transforms the state from a “flexible band” to a “file and use” regulatory environment, the law – SB 14 – in theory moves Texas closer to being a free market in insurance. In the context of the homeowners’ insurance market as a whole, this paper examines the hoped-for positive outcomes and potential pitfalls of SB 14, which includes a provision for “subsequent disapproval” rulings by the insurance commissioner.
Property Rights
Oakland fined this couple $915,000 for preventing fires. That’s 18 times the penalty for actual arson
Imagine buying a piece of property, being ordered by the government to clear it of fire hazards, and then being handed a near-million-dollar bill by that same government for doing exactly what it asked. It sounds like a dystopian satire of bureaucratic overreach, but for Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner, it is a harrowing legal...
August 19, 2026