Hunter Appointed to Windstorm Insurance Oversight Board
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 31, 2009
Hunter Appointed to Windstorm Insurance Oversight Board
AUSTIN — State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, was named Friday to the Windstorm Insurance Legislative Oversight Board by Speaker of the House Joe Straus.
The new board was set up as a part of windstorm reform legislation passed by the Texas Legislature this year and signed by Gov. Rick Perry at a ceremonial signing in Corpus Christi. The committee will consist of four House members appointed by the Speaker and four senators appointed by the lieutenant governor.
Straus said in a letter to Hunter that he and other committee members would “be responsible for monitoring windstorm insurance adequacy rates, the operation of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and the availability of coverage.”
“Additionally, your responsibilities will include reviewing recommendations for legislation proposed by the Texas Department of Insurance,” Straus stated in his announcement of Hunter’s appointment.
Hunter, who chairs the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee, and was a member of the Conference Committee that hashed out details of final windstorm legislation was called a hero of windstorm reform by Gov. Rick Perry when he signed the bill in Corpus Christi in June.
“Every day he moved it back into the forefront,” said Perry, who noted that the reforms would help make insurance available and affordable to people along the Texas coast. “Even when the wheels had come off he (Hunter) put them back on. He cobbled a bill. He got it passed.”
Hunter said he was honored to have served on the conference committee but was especially happy to be named to the board that will have oversight on how those reforms are put into effect.
“Windstorm reform was an economic issue, a family issue and a personal issue for me,” Hunter said. “We did not need legislation that would have been punitive to coastal residents and businesses. This committee will be the watchdog to ensure that the reforms included in this bill are implemented fairly for all the people of Texas.”
