Unlocking America’s Future calls on Rep. Monica De La Cruz to act on the homeowner insurance crisis hitting South Texas hardest
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A recent study by LendingTree has revealed a troubling distinction for McAllen, Texas: it carries the highest rate of uninsured homes of any metropolitan area in the United States. For the families and working homeowners in Texas’s 15th congressional district, this is not an abstract statistic — it is a financial emergency unfolding roof by roof, block by block. The escalating home insurance coverage and affordability crisis hammering Texans and District 15 has gone unchecked by Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who sits on the powerful House Financial Services Committee and vice chairs the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee.
“Texas Rep. De La Cruz’s district is at the center of this crisis, yet she’s failed to protect her constituents from home insurers’ predatory practices as the vice chair of a powerful subcommittee that oversees the industry,” said Kyle Herrig, Unlocking America’s Future. “Constituents in De La Cruz’s district are paying more for less and losing coverage due to her inaction. Her subcommittee must take action to hold home insurers accountable and provide relief for homeowners. Her constituents are losing coverage—not because they made bad decisions, but because insurers are imposing impossible demands while Congress fails to act.”
The timing could not be more urgent with Texas facing the highest number of homes threatened by hail. As Bloomberg recently reported, the American home insurance crisis has its epicenter at the roofline. The Trump administration’s Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently made it harder and more costly to replace roofs after damage occurs. Under the rule change that provided no assurances home insurance premiums would actually be reduced, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will now accept “Actual Cash Value” (ACV) coverage on roofs for single-family homes and condos, rather than full “replacement cost value” (RCV) coverage. It means homeowners could see marginal premium savings on their bills, but will pay thousands of dollars more to replace their roofs, leaving more homeowners at risk of financial ruin when disaster strikes.
Home insurers are increasingly cancelling and refusing to renew policies — or refusing to write new ones entirely — unless homeowners replace their roofs, often costing tens of thousands or more. In many cases, these are roofs with years of useful life remaining. The result is a brutal choice: absorb a massive out-of-pocket expense, or lose coverage altogether and join the ranks of the uninsured.
In McAllen, where median household incomes trail the national average and housing affordability is already strained, that choice is no choice at all. Families are being priced out of the insurance market not because they made poor decisions, but because an industry facing its own climate-driven losses has shifted the burden entirely onto consumers — and regulators have largely allowed it.
This is where Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s leadership matters. As Vice Chair of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, she holds direct jurisdiction over the insurance industry at the federal level. Her district is ground zero for this crisis. Her constituents are the ones losing coverage.
The ask is clear: Rep. De La Cruz should use her platform and her gavel to hold insurers accountable, push for federal standards that prevent predatory non-renewal practices, question the roof replacement decision by FHFA, and ensure constituents and South Texas families are not left exposed.
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