Gordy Bunch Vows to Fix Insolvent Texas Windstorm Insurance Association

As a resident of southeast Texas, I know the devastating effect that hurricanes have on the great state of Texas. According to the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), this association was created by the Texas Legislature in 1971 to provide windstorm and hail coverage to those who are unable to obtain insurance from the voluntary insurance market.

The problem? TWIA is insolvent and does not even have enough money to fulfill the coverage that they promised the people who they take premiums from. It is an absolute outrage! Texas should be better than this.

State Senate District 4 candidate Gordy Bunch has made this matter one of his top issues as we head into the May 10th, 2014 special election. Many SD-4 residents are directly affected by TWIAs insolvency, but this is a problem that impacts every Texan because it will result in higher fees and taxes for everyone. Chambers County, Jefferson County, Beaumont and Port Arthur have especially been hit hard due to recent hurricanes and the lack of funding in TWIA to pay the coverage it promises. I still see blue tarps on roofs here in southeast Texas, and it has been several years since Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Ike blew through.

Something has to change. TWIA must be fixed.

On top of being a veteran and a successful businessman, Gordy Bunch is a national insurance expert.

The following video of Gordy Bunch speaking to the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce is only a few minutes long but is well worth watching. In the video, Gordy Bunch dissects TWIA. He articulately breaks down the outrageous problems with TWIA and goes on to explain how he has the expertise and leadership to fix the problem that the current leadership has created and has failed to fix.

Below the video I have written out some of the highlights of what Gordy Bunch says in the video.

Gordy Bunch:

“In non-hurricane years, TWIA loses 267 million dollars. It only has 400 million dollars in annual premiums.”

“It buys re-insurance at 100 million dollars, so that is 367 million dollars gone out of 400 million dollars collected. How much is left for hurricane coverage?”

“In 2013, TWIA ...could cover a 3.4 billion dollar loss. So that leaves you with a 1.15 billion dollar shortfall in a 60 year hurricane event.... What happens when TWIA runs out of money?"

"This is from the Commissioner of insurance (February 26th, 2013). If TWIA were any other insurance company, it would have been shut down a long time ago.”

“Who is going to pay for these losses if we get hit by one of these storms? ...Attorney General Greg Abbott says that the legislature has chosen not to obligate the state to pay unfunded losses that TWIA can’t pay. That is a failure of leadership."

“This problem has been ignored…When they say theres not solution. The solution is you hire someone who knows what they heck they are doing, and actually will take this issue on and solve it. One solution is that the private sector comes in and takes the risk off of TWIA’s hands. Some suggested that they (the private sector) won’t do that. In fact, United Property and Casualty Insurance Company from Florida offered to take 25 percent of all TWIA policies away from the program providing the exact same insurance at the exact same rate...”

“You have a failure of leadership when it comes to insurance in this state. Youre not going to fix it with people who dont know where to look and dont know how to come up with a plan. The solution is Gordy Bunch being elected to Senate District 4 and taking this issue head on for you.”

Early voting is taking place now through May 6th, and election day is May 10th.