Abbott and Texas Republicans Fostered Crisis By Pushing Insurance Industry’s Anti-Consumer Efforts and Denying Climate Risks
WASHINGTON, DC – Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Aug. 24 letter directing the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) to rein in home insurance costs comes after six years in which the average Texas premium climbed 79 percent, from under $2,000 in 2020 to more than $3,500 today, according to Abbott’s own letter to his appointed TDI Commissioner Amanda Crawford. The order sidesteps fixes the governor, state legislators, and regulators have known about for years while leaving homeowners to cover the gap.
TDI’s own 2024 study found that homes built to the FORTIFIED standard saw far fewer storm claims, yet neither Abbott nor Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pushed for mandatory insurer discounts in the two legislative sessions since, and a 2025 bill requiring those discounts passed the House before dying in the Senate. Abbott’s newly proposed $400 million roof grant program carries no funding mechanism, so the upgrades that could lower premiums and lessen damage will only help homeowners who can afford the cost themselves, offering little hope for the majority of working families in Texas.
“Texas homeowners don’t need another study and more delays. They needed the discounts and funding Greg Abbott could have delivered two legislative sessions ago, when his own insurance department confirmed that resilient roofs cut storm claims and lower costs,” said Jayson O’Neill, spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future. “Instead, families are watching premiums climb 79 percent while insurers hide behind credit scores and pricing algorithms Texans cannot see inside. If Abbott is serious about affordability, he will fund the roof grants, close the credit score loophole in his price optimization ban, and stop insurers from denying valid claims and accusing homeowners of fraud. Anything less is more talk, not action.”
The directive also orders TDI to ban price optimization, insurance companies’ practice of pricing policies using data unrelated to risk, but Texas remains one state that still allows insurers to factor policyholders credit scores into home insurance rates. Unless Abbott’s order defines personal data to include credit scores and characteristics protected under the Fair Housing Act, insurers can keep using the same inputs under a different name.
Presumably at the insurance lobby’s behest, Abbott is also proposing creating a ‘fraud task force’ aimed at consumers, even as homeowners report their insurers are closing claims without payment after years of paying premiums, a pattern that pushes families toward costly litigation just to collect on coverage they already bought.
Texas Republicans helped create this crisis by passing draconian legislation to limit lawsuits in 2017 — part of the industry’s efforts to blame price increases on policyholder litigation — giving insurers more leverage to deny claims and lowball settlements. Property and casualty insurance ‘tort reform’ has been a complete failure for homeowners and has done nothing to lower skyrocketing premiums.
As previously noted by Unlocking America’s Future, Greg Abbott cashed over over $700,000 in donations from the insurance industry during his 2022 reelection campaign.
Email jayson@focalpointstrategygroup.com to set up interviews with ratings, legal, advocacy, and insurance experts.
###
