TEXAS – Rep. Monica De La Cruz (TX-15), Vice Chair of the House Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, has consistently advanced insurance industry priorities over policyholder protections while her constituents face the nation’s worst home insurance affordability crisis. A new report from Unlocking America’s Future released today reveals that the former State Farm agent has collected nearly $50,000 in campaign contributions from property insurers and industry associations while blocking meaningful oversight and advancing legislation that makes it harder for homeowners to challenge claim denials.
Today, UAF held a press call featuring Kyle Herrig from Unlocking America’s Future, Zoe Middleton from Union of Concerned Scientists, Eric Holguin, Texas State Director for UnidosUS Action Fund, State Rep. Mihaela Plesa representing Texas District 70, and Kendall Scudder, Texas Democratic Chair. Speakers discussed how Rep. De La Cruz’s record demonstrates a pattern of prioritizing insurance industry profits over the needs of homeowners in her district and Texas., who face the highest percentage of uninsured homes in America at 41.5%—nearly 14 points above any other major city. [WATCH HERE]
“Rep. De La Cruz’s constituents are living through the worst home insurance affordability crisis in America, in one of the most disaster-prone states in the country,” said Kyle Herrig, spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future. “And yet, our report finds that over the course of three years in her powerful oversight role, Rep. De La Cruz has consistently advanced the interests of the insurance industry over those of her own constituents and Texans.”
“As Texas and states across the country are about to enter what we call Danger Season. Texans deserve regulation, functioning response systems, and investment that acknowledges and reduces the physical and financial risk of Danger Season. This is a crisis and the system is broken,” said Zoe Middleton, Union of Concerned Scientists. “Keeping Americans safe and building resilience in the face of extreme weather is a whole government effort. To start solving the insurance crisis, policymakers in Austin and DC need accurate data that helps us hold insurance accountable. The job of any congressional oversight committee is to promote accountability, and the first way to create accountability is through basic transparency. ”
“House insurance is becoming another bill Texas families can’t afford. Some 14% of Latinos’ homes are uninsured, about twice the national rate, and it’s worse in Southern Texas, where the uninsured rate is one of the highest in the nation, with less than 2% of homeowners even carrying flood insurance coverage. We need solutions that work for homeowners and families,” said Eric Holguin, Texas State Director for UnidosUS Action Fund. “We are asking for a system that works and is fair for South Texas and Latinos, just like everyone else.”
“From McAllen to McKinney, it’s the same story. Families are paying more, getting less, and being asked to carry more risk on their own. That is not a functioning market. That is a system where the burden is being pushed down onto people who can least afford it,” said State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, Texas District 70. “Texans deserve a system where rates are transparent, where increases are justified, and where their interests come first.”
“Would you still have your job if you only showed up to work two times over three years? Despite her position, Rep. De La Cruz has only held two hearings on the home insurance crisis as Texans and her constituents struggle to afford home insurance as premiums skyrocket, while coverage evaporates,” said Kendall Scudder, Texas Democratic Chair. “Don’t Texans deserve to have someone in Congress that is fighting for them? We believe they do, and it’s clear Rep. De La Cruz is not.”
Minimal Oversight, Maximum Industry Access: During her three years co-leading the subcommittee responsible for insurance oversight, Rep. De La Cruz has held only two hearings on home insurance. Neither hearing brought insurance executives to testify about record profits while homeowners face soaring premiums and skyrocketing claim denials. Instead, hearings featured industry association representatives and blamed risk management principles rather than examining insurer practices or executive compensation. An upcoming hearing in the subcommittee prioritizes reinsurers’ bottom-lines and credit lines instead of her constituents and Texans struggling to maintain home insurance.
Industry-Backed Legislation Hurts Low-Income Homeowners: Rep. De La Cruz co-sponsored H.R. 1109, industry-backed legislation that increases burdens on third-party litigation financing—the mechanism allowing low-income consumers to afford legal costs when challenging claim denials. Insurance companies claim litigation drives costs, but evidence shows otherwise. When Texas enacted restrictions on lawsuits against insurers in 2017, claim denials rose sharply and average premiums increased from $1,860 to $2,919 by 2024.
McAllen’s Crisis: Nation’s Highest Uninsured Rate: Rep. De La Cruz represents McAllen, Texas—the metro area with the highest percentage of uninsured homes in America at 41.5%, nearly 14 points above any other major city. Yet as Vice Chair of the subcommittee responsible for insurance oversight, De La Cruz has consistently prioritized insurance industry profits over addressing this crisis in her own district.
A Pattern of Industry Favoritism: Rep. De La Cruz’s record demonstrates a consistent pattern of advancing insurance industry priorities while avoiding accountability measures that would protect policyholders. Her voting record includes support for restrictions on policyholders’ ability to challenge denials, opposition to data collection on climate impacts that would inform policy decisions, and votes to cut FEMA disaster relief funding that her constituents desperately need.
Read the full UAF report here.
