Insurers A Dirty Word In Texas Campaign

By Daniel Hays

NU Online News Service, June 14, 4:06 p.m. EST?The Texas gubernatorial race from an insurer standpoint has sometimes looked like a contest to see which candidate could do the most to disparage them.

But the political combatants were unclear recently when asked whether insurers would continue to remain a hot button issue in the campaign. Democratic challenger Tony Sanchez has periodically fired blasts at both the industry and Republican Gov. Rick Perry on insurance issues, but his campaign played it coy when asked how big a factor the topic might be in the future.

Mark Sanders, a representative for Mr. Sanchez, said he could not say if insurance would be a recurring theme because it's a question of "strategy."

However, the week Mr. Sanders was interviewed, the Sanchez Web Site was featuring as its lead news item a Dallas Morning News story headlined: "Homeowner Premiums Skyrocket."

Mr. Sanchez, in addition to speaking out on homeowners insurance, has been raising questions about health insurance.

However, Ray Sullivan, a representative for the Perry campaign, said that at this point, the issue has not "gained traction." Poll results at the end of last month gave Mr. Perry a 25-point lead over Mr. Sanchez.

Among some political observers, insurance has been seen as an issue with potency ever since Democrat Jim McGreevy, in his 1997 gubernatorial election campaign in New Jersey, came close to unseating Republican Gov. Christie Whitman using the issue of high auto insurance rates. In his second run against Jersey City Mayor Brett Shundler, however, he did not raise the issue.

Mr. Sanders said he was "not familiar" with the McGreevy experience. Mr. Sullivan said there are "probably very few political similarities between New Jersey and Texas, but we are aware of the potency of that issue."

Hit by expensive mold remediation claims, property insurers have been hiking their policy costs, and both candidates began putting out press releases on the topic of homeowners insurance at the beginning of the year.

On Feb. 12, Gov. Perry called on the state attorney general to investigate the marketing practices of the three largest insurance companies, warning that it was time for the insurance market to get a correction. "And if the insurance companies do not do it, the state will do it for them," he declared.

That same day, Mr. Sanchez announced he was renewing his call for property insurance company reforms and more regulation. "I'm tired of seeing insurance companies come into the state, take our money, then raise prices while they reduce coverage," he announced.

Mr. Sanchez in April attacked Gov. Perry with a charge that he vetoed prompt medical payment legislation because "it is clear he was influenced by HMO contributions and ties to their lobbyists."

Then last month Gov. Perry took note of findings from his attorney general that some companies were engaging in unfair or fraudulent pricing practices, and applying inconsistent credit scoring practices that discriminate against some consumers.

Gov. Perry said he was proposing giving the Texas Department of Insurance power to review all rates and impose rate freezes. He also called for setting limits on credit scoring use, allowing more choice in homeowner policy language, and employing tort reform measures to prevent claim inflation.

The governor also said that insurers should "listen up," because "Texans are fed up, and I will sign legislation that prevents a handful of companies from bringing the state to its knees."

Industry response was carefully measured. The National Association of Independent Insurers, based in Des Plaines, Ill., announced that they agreed that new policy forms would increase competition in the homeowners insurance market.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sanchez went on the attack, denouncing Gov. Perry, charging that he should have called a special session of the legislature to deal with skyrocketing rates.

The governor won't call a special session, he added, "because he was bought and paid for by the very insurance industry he now says he wants to regulate?Rick dances to the tune the insurance industry plays because they are financing his campaign with hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Mr. Sullivan, speaking for the governor, said it was "ironic" that Mr. Sanchez would attack on the issue "since his bank owns insurance agencies and he is personally profiting from higher insurance rates."
Mr. Sanchez' Laredo, Texas-based IBC Bank "does have a brokerage, but they don't set rates. It's just a brokerage house," shot back Mr. Sanders.

Mr. Sanchez's comments got some support from a consumer advocate. D.J. Powers of the Center for Economic Justice in Austin, Texas said that if Gov. Perry "cared about consumers getting overcharged, he would have raised this issue when it all started."

Mr. Sullivan said no special session was called because the issue was complicated and needs "analysis and consensus building" that can't be rushed in a short special session.

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Insurers A Dirty Word In Texas Campaign

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