SENATE WANTS RATE ROLL BACK

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst is working with the members of the Texas Senate to reach a consensus on driving homeowners insurance rates down by 12 to 15 percent, according to a Senate announcement. The chair of the Business and Commerce Committee, Senator Troy Fraser of Horseshoe Bay, said he is drafting a bill to give the commissioner of insurance the authority to make companies bring rates back down to a level that is commensurate with the current losses. Dewhurst and Fraser are also for regulation of credit scoring practices. The two favor regulating the use of credit history in insurance underwriting rather than banning it altogether. They want to allow its use as a tool, as long as it is not the sole factor in underwriting and rating policies. “If we put sunshine on the issue, then not only do we know what they’re doing, but we can assure the public that the practices they are doing are non-discriminatory and are fair in the way that they’re used,” Fraser said. Fraser wants to ensure that people with little or no credit, those who have had medical emergencies, and those with disputed credit are not discriminated against.

Topics Politics