The Facts
- TWIA’s market share grew from 17.9% in 2001 to 62% in 2011.
- Here is the exposure for TWIA in three areas of the coast:
- Galveston: $37.9 billion
- Corpus Christi: $15.3 billion
- Brownsville: $4.9 billion
- In the case of a strike by a Class 4 hurricane, here is the average projected loss in each area:
- Galveston: $4.4 billion
- Corpus Christi: $3.7 billion
- Brownsville: $606 million
- At the start of the 2012 hurricane season, TWIA had somewhere between $250 and $275 million in the Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund to pay claims.
- The number of TWIA policyholders increased from 68,756 in 2001 to 257,818 at the end of June 30, 2012.
Recommendations
- Eliminate the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.
- Replace TWIA with a true provider of last resort, much like the Texas FAIR plan for automobile insurance policies.
- Require that the new windstorm rates be actuarially sound.
- Require that the new windstorm rates be higher than any competing private sector offers.
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