Letter from Austin: TWIA more transparent on legal costs
Earlier this month, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association’s management offered an update on implementation of the reform legislation passed in June. The report displayed an overall commitment to address many of the issues that have concerned lawmakers in the past. TWIA intends to control expenses by contracting directly with legal defense and adjusting firms, requiring litigation budgets, auditing legal billings and improving documentation of claims. It also plans to implement a quality review function on claims and an invoice control process.
TWIA also reported it has revamped its website to address issues of transparency and ease of use. The House Bill 3 tab includes the text of the new legislation, changes to rules and policy, and timelines for claims processing. Public meetings – both live broadcasts and archived videos – also will soon be available. Additionally, the site explains the process by which citizens may obtain public information from the agency.
Future additions to the website are said to include financial and expenditure reports, email alerts and alternative certification information.
To check it out for yourself, go to: http://www.twia.org/Home.aspx.
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Early voting for adding ten amendments to the Texas Constitution began Oct. 24 and will end Nov. 4. It is important to note that the bond proposals (Proposition Numbers 2, 3 and 4) authorize not only the initial bond offering but the ability to reissue the bonds without voter approval. In other words, the bonds may be used to saddle our grandchildren and great-grandchildren with even more debt without their consent.
