Megan Kimble

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Megan Kimble

Workers repair a roof in northeast Houston, TX on Tuesday May 21, 2024. The area sustained extensive damage and loss of power due to fallen trees and high winds caused by the powerful storms that swept through the Houston region last Thursday. Sharon Steinmann/derecho, houstonInsurance companies operating in Texas closed almost half the claims filed by homeowners last year without paying anything, part of a rising trend that is shifting more costs onto property owners, according to a new analysis.

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Matt Zdun |Megan Kimble

Will you receive any money when you file a home insurance claim in Texas? Flip a coin. Out of about 2.6 million claims received and closed by home insurers operating in Texas last year, nearly half, or about 47%, were closed with the homeowner receiving no money, according to federal data analysed by Weiss Ratings, an independent rating agency, and shared exclusively with Hearst Newspapers. Texas has a higher rate than the U.S. as a whole.

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Megan Kimble

A fallen tree on the roof of a home in Meadowcreek Village, a community on their ninth day without power after Hurricane Beryl left thousands without power, is photographed on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographerHeading into the legislative session, Texas lawmakers promised to tackle the state’s rising home insurance costs.

3 weeks ago | expressnews.com | Megan Kimble

Heading into the legislative session, Texas lawmakers promised to tackle the state's rising home insurance costs. After 140 days in Austin, they opted for minor tweaks, eschewing more fundamental reforms that would have restricted rate increases and helped homeowners harden their homes against storms. "I would argue that nothing was done to lower property and casualty rates for the average homeowner," said state Rep. Tom Oliverson, a Cypress Republican.

3 weeks ago | expressnews.com | Taylor Goldenstein |Isaac Yu |Megan Kimble |Benjamin Wermund

The 89th legislative session came to a close this week, and while it was an exceedingly good session for Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, there were a number of surprise failures as well. Lawmakers filed more bills this session than they have in over three decades (8,719) but passed the smallest percentage of them (13.8%) compared to sessions during that same period, according to political lawyer Andy Cates. The average rate is around 20%, Cates said.