Who’s Watching Whom?

Four Texas legislators have pocketed tens of thousands of dollars from the Texas Wind Insurance Association (TWIA) they were supposed to oversee.

Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, Rep. Trey Fischer, D-San Antonio and Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood all served on the House of Representatives insurance committee 2009-2010 which oversees the state run Texas Wind Insurance Association.

All four profited from hurricane related insurance sales and litigation. They made money in different ways, including mediation fees, work on hundreds of civil cases involving TWIA and a state-created sister insurer, commissions on policy sales and shares of multimillion dollar legal awards.  For example, Rep. Eiland made $627,000 from one TWIA settlement and shared another $11,500,000 award in 2010.

Source: Houston Chronicle, Sunday March 13, 2011