Insurance Professionals, Meteorologists to Kick Off ‘Hurricane Tour’

Texas insurance experts and meteorologists will be touring the Texas coast to inform the public about hurricane awareness and new legislation aimed at mitigating storm damage and related insurance costs.

The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) will lead the team as part of its 12^th annual Hurricane Tour, which begins on Aug. 20 in Beaumont.

The ICT wants to make sure that homeowners are aware of recent legislation affecting new construction and property litigation.

HB 2439 allows engineers to certify that new homes have met coastal building code requirements through a post construction certification. This certification comes with a WPI-8 form allowing homeowners to qualify for windstorm insurance coverage from TWIA. It took effect on Jan. 1

HB 1774 requires trial attorneys to notify insurance companies within a specific period of time that they are filing a lawsuit over a weather-related claim. The suit must specify what damage was not repaired and what monetary damages the client is seeking. The new law takes effect Sept. 1.

Hurricane season began on June 1 but the peak of hurricane season is now through November 30.

Mark Hanna, spokesperson for ICT, will be accompanied by meteorologists from the National Weather Service (NWS), Manuel Villarreal, who serves as the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) ombudsman for the Texas Department of Insurance, and independent insurance agents in Beaumont and Clute.

The group will discuss recent predictions for an active hurricane season, steps to take to prepare for a hurricane, insurance coverage, and the insurance market along the coast, including TWIA and the private market.

The hurricane tour starts in Beaumont on Sunday, Aug. 20, and continues over the next five days with three dozen media interviews in 19 coastal cities. The group’s message is expected to reach an estimated three million Texas coastal residents from Beaumont down to Brownsville.

Their stops include Beaumont, Orange, Port Arthur, Houston, Baytown, Pasadena, Galveston, Clute, Bay City, Victoria, Port Lavaca, Rockport, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi, Kingsville, McAllen, Pharr, Harlingen and Brownsville.

Coastal Texans need two or possibly three different types of insurance coverage for their homes to be fully protected.

Flood insurance protects homeowners from rising waters such as a storm surge.

A residential fire policy protects homeowners from not only fires, but burglary, theft and liability.

Some private insurers may offer homeowner policies that include wind. If the homeowners policy does not include wind coverage, windstorm insurance which protects homeowners from the damage caused by hurricane-force winds may be needed.

Although it has been nearly nine years since the Texas coast was struck by Hurricane Ike in on Sept. 13, 2008, coastal residents should not become too complacent. Hurricane Ike caused approximately $12 billion in insured losses along the coast and throughout other parts of the state.

Interestingly, meteorologists say September 13 is the height of the hurricane season in Texas.

Source: The Insurance Council of Texas

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Texas Legislation Hurricane Homeowners