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For more Texas-related P&C insurance information and news, visit the ICT website
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End of Veto Period and Special Session Announcement
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Sunday, June 22, marked the final day for Gov. Greg Abbott to sign or veto bills from the 89th Legislative Session. He signed 1,155 bills into law and vetoed 28, with no vetoes impacting ICT’s priority legislation.
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Early Monday, the governor called a 30-day special session beginning July 21 to revisit six vetoed bills, including Senate Bill 3, which would ban the sale of hemp products containing THC in Texas. Other items on the initial call include measures related to real property recording, human trafficking prosecution, industrial operations near semiconductor facilities, and judicial procedures. Insurance-related issues are not on the call and are not expected to be added. The governor’s full news release is available here.
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 Two Texas Senators Launch
Statewide Campaigns for 2026Â
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Two longtime Texas lawmakers have officially launched bids for statewide office, signaling upcoming shifts in the Texas Senate.
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Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican and longtime leader in the Senate, announced her campaign for attorney general on Monday. Huffman, a former prosecutor and chair of the Senate Finance Committee, enters a growing field vying to succeed Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leaving office to run for U.S. Senate. She joins Sen. Mayes Middleton, who has pledged to self-fund $10 million into his campaign, and Aaron Reitz, a former senior Justice Department official and prominent conservative legal voice.
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Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Kelly Hancock launched his campaign for Texas comptroller after resigning from the Legislature last week. Shortly after, he was named chief clerk at the Comptroller’s Office—positioning him to serve as interim comptroller following Glenn Hegar’s departure in June. Due to a constitutional restriction, Hancock could not be directly appointed comptroller while still in office. He joins Texas Railroad Commission Chair Christi Craddick and former GOP Sen. Don Huffines, who announced their candidacies in March following Hegar's announcement that he was named chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.
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Join us in Austin for the 2025 ICT Property & Casualty Insurance Symposium
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 September 17–18, 2025 | Renaissance Austin Hotel
Texas’ P&C insurance market is changing fast—this is your chance to stay ahead. Don’t miss two packed days of insight, networking, and expert analysis.
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Highlights include:
🔹 2025 Legislative Recap – What passed, what changed, and how it affects you
🔹 State of the Market – Trends, shifts, and what’s next for P&C
🔹 Wildfire Risk in Texas – Are we headed down California’s path?
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2025 ICT Workers' Compensation Conference
September 15-16, 2025Â |Â Renaissance Austin Hotel
Join us for two dynamic days of insight and innovation as we dive into the future of workers’ comp in Texas.
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Highlights include:
🔹Regulatory Recap – What the latest Texas legislation means for WC
🔹 Total Worker Health – Building safer, healthier, more resilient teams
🔹 Telemedicine Trends – What's next for care delivery in WC
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Join Us for the ICT All Member CallÂ
June 26 at 11 AM CT
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Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed and connected! ICT members are invited to join our upcoming All Member Call on Wednesday, June 26 at 11:00 a.m. Central Time.
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We’ll cover:
Stay engaged, stay informed — register today!
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 ICT in the News:Â
Get most out of renters coverage
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As flood risks grow in the Houston area, local officials and insurance experts are reminding residents — especially the city’s large renter population — to consider both renters and flood insurance. In an interview with local media, ICT emphasized that renters are often unaware their belongings aren’t covered for flood damage without a separate policy. With renters making up nearly 60% of Houston households, understanding coverage options is increasingly important.
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Key Points:
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Renters insurance covers personal belongings — not the structure — and is usually affordable, but it typically excludes flood damage. A separate flood policy is needed to protect against rising waters.
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Many renters policies include coverage for additional living expenses if your home becomes uninhabitable due to events like hurricanes — but National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies do not.
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Know whether your policy offers replacement cost or actual cash value, as this determines whether you'll receive the full price of a new item or its depreciated value after damage or theft.
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Flood damage and mold are often excluded from standard renters insurance, said ICT’s Richard Johnson. Private flood insurance may offer more comprehensive coverage than NFIP policies, which take 30 days to activate.
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Keep a detailed inventory of belongings, using video or photos stored online. Receipts are best for proof of value and ownership in case you need to file a claim.
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 Industry News:Â
Gov. Greg Abbott orders special legislative session after vetoing 26 bills
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Gov. Greg Abbott announced a 30-day special session beginning July 21, calling lawmakers back to Austin to reconsider six vetoed bills, including Senate Bill 3, which would have banned hemp-derived THC products. While Abbott described the session’s agenda as “initial,” he did not include a request from former President Donald Trump to redraw congressional maps. Under the Texas Constitution, legislators may only consider topics specifically designated by the governor during special sessions.
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Key Points:
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Senate Bill 3, banning the sale of THC-infused hemp products, is among the six vetoed bills Abbott placed on the special session agenda.
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The five other bills focus on real property recording, water project fees, cement plant regulations, judicial procedures, and legal protections for human trafficking victims.
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Abbott vetoed 18 other bills that are not included in the special session, including a bipartisan bail reform measure (HB 413) that would have limited pretrial detention to the maximum sentence length.
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Abbott also rejected SB 974, which would have allowed public school teachers to serve on local appraisal review boards, citing concerns about potential bias in property tax decisions.
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Several vetoed bills addressed water rights, juvenile justice, cosmetology licensing, and legal representation for indigent Texans, reflecting a broad range of policy disputes left unresolved this session.
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 Industry News:Â
San Marcos homeowners forced to purchase flood insurance despite minimal flood risk
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San Marcos homeowners, including residents of the Blanco Vista subdivision, were caught off guard in early 2025 after learning they were now required to purchase flood insurance due to updated FEMA flood maps. Despite recent flood remediation efforts in the area, the revised maps did not reflect those changes, leading lenders to enforce new insurance requirements. The Insurance Information Institute weighed in, encouraging broader awareness and consideration of flood coverage as flood risks grow across Texas.
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Key Points:
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New FEMA flood maps took effect Jan. 17, 2025, placing parts of the Blanco Vista subdivision into a floodplain, triggering mandatory flood insurance for some homeowners.
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Residents say the maps don’t reflect completed flood mitigation efforts, such as berms and drainage systems, because the neighborhood was still under construction when FEMA conducted its study.
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Homeowners like Victoria Meza now face unexpected costs, including $1,800 for a formal request to remove their property from the flood zone designation.
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Texas law requires floodplain disclosure at the time of sale, but Meza purchased her home before the new FEMA maps were finalized, leaving her unaware of the flood risk classification.
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Only 14% of Texas homes have flood insurance, despite increasing flood events; experts urge homeowners to consider coverage even if not federally required.
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 Industry News:Â
Texas Cities Top Allstate’s Best and Worst Drivers List; Boston Most Accident-Prone
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Texas continues to lead the nation in driving safety, with Brownsville reclaiming its title as the safest driving city in America, according to the 2025 Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report. Three other Texas cities—Laredo, McAllen, and Corpus Christi—also ranked among the top 20 safest cities. The annual report highlights a growing divide in road safety, with sharp improvements in some areas and worsening trends in others.
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Key Points:
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Brownsville tops the list as the safest driving city in the nation, reaffirming its place after previous top rankings in past years.
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Texas has four cities in the top 20, reflecting a strong statewide performance in safe driving, with Austin, Fort Worth, Houston, and Dallas also improving over the past decade.
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Boston remains the most collision-prone city, with drivers nearly 3.5 times more likely to be involved in a crash than the national average.
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West Coast and Northeast cities dominate the riskiest driving list, including Los Angeles, Oakland, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
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The gap between the safest and riskiest cities has widened, as some Midwestern cities like St. Louis and Des Moines saw major declines, while Northwestern cities like Bellevue, Washington, and Anchorage, Alaska, showed the most improvement.
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 Industry News:Â
LexisNexis: Collision severity and frequency trending down, insurance market softening
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The 2025 U.S. Auto Insurance Trends Report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions reveals encouraging signs of market recovery, with collision and property damage claim frequencies declining and rate increases beginning to ease. Insurer profitability is improving, enabling some carriers to lower rates for the first time in years. However, consumer behaviors are shifting—especially among older drivers—driving record levels of policy shopping, while distracted driving and violations are sharply rising.
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Key Points:
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Collision frequency dropped to 7.3% in 2024, and property damage and bodily injury frequency remained flat or declined, but bodily injury severity jumped 9.2%, indicating more serious injuries per claim.
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Insurance rates rose 10% YoY in 2024, down from 15% in 2023; however, rates have increased 35% overall since 2022, with tariffs possibly triggering moderate hikes in 2025.
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Policy shopping hit an all-time high, with 45% of policies shopped in 2024. Long-tenured and older drivers (66+) led this trend, while retention fell to 78%, contributing to a 22% rise in policy churn.
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Electric vehicle (EV) claim frequency increased 14%, with insured EVs growing 40% year-over-year to 5.6 million—far outpacing growth in other vehicle segments.
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Traffic violations surged 17% YoY, with distracted driving violations up 50%, DUI incidents up 8%, and major speeding up 16%. Drivers aged 26–35 accounted for the most DUIs, while drivers 66–90 saw the largest increase.
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 Industry News:Â
Workplace injury costs climb despite decline in claims – Travelers
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The Travelers Companies has released its 2025Â Injury Impact Report, analyzing more than 2.6 million workers compensation claims filed over the past decade. The report highlights a decline in overall workplace injury frequency but a notable increase in the severity and cost of claims. According to Travelers, workforce trends such as delayed retirement, high employee turnover, and extended recovery times are driving up claim costs despite fewer incidents.
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Key Points:
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Injury frequency declined, with 1.2 million claims filed between 2020–2024 compared to 1.4 million from 2015–2019 — but average missed workdays rose to 80, up by more than 7 days.
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Slips, trips, and falls remain a top cause of severe injury, accounting for 23% of all claims and many of those exceeding $250,000 in losses.
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First-year employees are at highest risk, making up 36% of injuries and 34% of claim costs in the past five years — with even higher percentages in industries like restaurants and construction.
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Older employees (60+) now make up 16% of injury claims, up from 13%, and miss an average of 97 workdays per injury, 17 days more than the overall average.
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Claim severity is rising, driven by longer recovery times and an aging workforce; Travelers urges employers to focus on safety, onboarding, and retention to mitigate risks.
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Check out all things ICT!
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The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) is on the lookout for knowledgeable and engaging speakers for our 2025 events! We are looking for experts to discuss industry trends at our upcoming gatherings, including:
- Quarterly ICT Webinar Series
- Workers' Comp Conference:Â September 15-16, 2025
- P&C Insurance Symposium:Â September 17-18, 2025, in Austin, TX
We’re seeking speakers to cover critical industry trends, topics such as:
- Emerging topics and innovations
- Legal developments affecting insurance
- AI and technology: challenges and opportunities
- Resiliency strategies for businesses and communities
- Insights on the future of the insurance industry
If you have suggested topics, would like to request a speaker or would like to present at one of ICT's events, click here to let us know.
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