The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association's Actuarial and Underwriting Committee rejected voting on a 10 percent rate hike at its meeting in Austin on Thursday afternoon.
Though it didn't vote on one today, the option to recommend a rate hike is one it can still consider until Dec. 10
A sticking point of the meeting was a concern belonging to committee member Steve Alexander, who believes the rate analysis provided to the committee in order to make the decision is faulty. Alexander said TWIA staff is using hurricane models -- or theoretical 'data' -- instead of actual data from hurricanes that have formed in its analysis, which renders it invalid.
The meeting adjourned with the committee agreeing to forego a vote and task TWIA staff with proving its analysis is based on solid data.
That meeting will have to be before Dec. 10, when the full TWIA Board of Directors next meets here in Corpus Christi.
Local elected officials and business leaders all rallied together earlier this week to oppose a proposed rate hike.
In July, TWIA published a Rate Adequacy Analysis report that said its rates are about 40 percent too low on residential policies and 50 percent too low for commercial properties, and needed to be raised.
During a recent quarterly meeting Aug. 6, TWIA’s board voted to not increase the premiums for residential and commercial policies.
