{"id":144060,"date":"2026-01-30T12:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T12:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/144060\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T12:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T12:47:08","slug":"with-high-premiums-and-fewer-claims-paid-texas-insurance-companies-are-failing-homeowners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/144060\/","title":{"rendered":"With high premiums and fewer claims paid, Texas insurance companies are failing homeowners."},"content":{"rendered":"

If you own a home and pay insurance premiums, brace yourself: This story is going to hurt.<\/p>\n

Rates are soaring<\/a> at absurd levels, but what\u2019s worse is what many homeowners are getting in return \u2014 less coverage, fewer payouts and other negative effects.<\/p>\n

While we\u2019ve been busy complaining about natural gas prices, electric bills and property taxes, another financial gut punch has been quietly landing: exploding insurance costs<\/a> paired with a shocking rise in denied claims.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re left with what can be called \u201cinsurance poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watchdog Alert<\/p>\n

Are you a taxpayer in Texas? The Watchdog has your back.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A report called \u201cHow Homeowners Pay More for Less While Insurers Profit\u201d has been released by a group called Unlocking America\u2019s Future.<\/a><\/p>\n

Texas ranks third among states for the highest premiums paid, but the real story is that nearly half of homeowner claims get rejected.<\/p>\n

The report says that 10 Texas home insurers closed more than half of their claims without payment, including two companies that rejected 60% of claims. The companies were not named in the report.<\/p>\n

High profits<\/p>\n

We pay more for premiums, but get our claims denied anyway.<\/p>\n

But wait: It gets worse. Some insurance companies are reporting record profits.<\/p>\n

The report asks, \u201cHow can insurers claim financial distress while simultaneously reporting billions in quarterly profit?\u201d<\/p>\n

Higher premiums + lower claims = near record profits.<\/p>\n

Ouch!<\/p>\n

Excuses<\/p>\n

When you question industry representatives as I have about these increases, they chalk it up to vicious storms, inflation and high labor costs.<\/p>\n

As one industry rep put it: \u201cTexas has faced nearly 70 extreme weather events in the past five years, each causing over $1 billion in damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report scolds top insurance executives for accepting \u201cobscene\u201d compensation packages for millions of dollars at the same time as they raise premiums and deny claims.<\/p>\n

File and use<\/p>\n

Another reason for rate jumps comes from Texas\u2019 philosophy to favor insurance companies over consumers. There\u2019s no argument there.<\/p>\n

As The Watchdog has previously reported, Texas is what\u2019s called \u201ca file and use\u201d state<\/a>. This means a company doesn\u2019t have to ask permission to increase prices and wait for a decision. A company files its rate increase with the Texas Department of Insurance, and then it can raise prices immediately. Generally, the rates are approved.<\/p>\n

\u2018Insurance poverty\u2019<\/p>\n

When premiums climb high enough, some people roll the dice and go without coverage at all \u2014 a gamble that can end in bankruptcy or homelessness.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve previously shared how most companies increased the deductible<\/a> for replacement housing after a storm. It went from 1% to 2%. That may not sound like a lot, but for a $400,000 home, a 1% deductible will cost $4,000, while a 2% deductible requires $8,000.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s real money most families don\u2019t have lying around.<\/p>\n

What can you do? <\/p>\n

Insurance poverty is no abstraction. So what can be done? <\/p>\n

First, we have to admit insurance poverty is real and getting worse. <\/p>\n

Then state leaders must act. The governor and lawmakers need to give regulators the authority\u2014 and the backbone \u2014 to stand up to an insurance industry whose lobbyists with campaign contributions currently wield outsized power.<\/p>\n

In January, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed<\/a> Amanda Crawford, a lawyer, as the new state insurance commissioner for a one-year term.<\/p>\n

Will Crawford rein in pricing and profitability? Other states have tough regulators. Texas does not.<\/p>\n

Saving money on property taxes only to lose it \u2014 and then some \u2014 on homeowners insurance isn\u2019t reform. It\u2019s a shell game, and Texans are the ones left holding the bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you own a home and pay insurance premiums, brace yourself: This story is going to hurt. Rates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2353,19758,1510,27,29,28,10322],"class_list":["post-144060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-commentary","tag-evergreen-monthly","tag-home","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-watchdog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}