TWIA Board Reviews Budget, Advances Legislative Recommendations 

Published on: October 8, 2026

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association’s (TWIA) Board of Directors met on October 8 to review preliminary information on the 2027 budget and consider legislative recommendations to be included in its Biennial Report to the Texas Legislature. 

Budget 

The Board received a presentation from staff on the 2027 operating budget. Select highlights of the presentation include: 

  • Gross operating expenses for 2027 are budgeted to decrease by nearly 9 percent from the 2026 budget. This decrease is attributed to an ongoing reduction in temporary claims staff brought on for 2024’s Hurricane Beryl, as well as reduced depreciation charges related to improvements in TWIA’s online policy management systems. Net operating expenses are budgeted to remain nearly flat, from 5.5% in 2026 to 5.6% of earned premium in 2027. (Net operating expenses isolate the cost of operating the Association, excluding the portion attributable to handling claims.) 
  • The Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund (CRTF) is forecasted to hold about $59 million at the end of 2026. If there is not a significant storm in 2026 or 2027, the CRTF is projected to rise to approximately $350 million at the end of 2027. 
  • TWIA’s policy count and written premium are projected to continue to flatten and decrease in 2027. The Association’s total exposure is projected to rise slightly due to continuing increases in construction costs, although the growth of these costs is at a slower rate than in recent years.     

Legislative Recommendations 

The Board voted to adopt the following legislative recommendations in its Biennial Report to the Texas Legislature. The implementation of any recommended changes in law would require enactment by the Texas Legislature. 

  • Multidistrict Litigation: Eliminate or make optional TIC Section 2210.575(e) requiring actions against the Association be presided over by a judge appointed by the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation. 
  • FORTIFIED Home Construction: Consider the feasibility and possible public funding of FORTIFIED home construction and other mitigation programs. 
  • House Bill 3689 Refinement: Modify the law relating to TWIA’s catastrophe funding structure to: 
    • allow additional time for TWIA and the state agencies involved to perform administrative tasks necessary to execute state financing arrangements and the statewide policy surcharges used to repay them, and 
    • allow for an alternative method of funding after the exhaustion of the Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund and prior to executing state financing arrangements if the amount needed to pay excess losses is minimal. 
  • Depopulation Program: Modify aspects of TWIA’s Assumption Reinsurance Depopulation Program to: 
    • authorize TWIA to pay a bonus, per risk removed to participating carriers, subject to a multi-year renewal requirement and Texas Department of Insurance approval, and 
    • consider legislation to encourage private-market carriers to enter the coastal market and depopulate TWIA policies, to include a premium compatibility rule, which would require the insured to accept the takeout offer. 

The Biennial Report must be submitted to the Texas Legislature, the Insurance Commissioner, and the Sunset Advisory Commission in the year before a legislative session. By statute, the report must include:  

  • Any proposed changes in the laws relating to the regulation of TWIA,  
  • A statement of the reasons for the changes, and  
  • Any information regarding TWIA operations or procedures that is requested by the Texas Department of Insurance to be addressed in the report.  

The most recent TWIA Biennial Report was published in 2024. 

Members of the media with questions about the Committee meeting, please email MediaRelations@TWIA.org. 

The meeting materials and archived recording for the Committee meeting are available on our Meeting Library page.