Texas Home Insurers See Record Profits
Preliminary data indicates Texas home insurers earned a 22% profit on premiums collected last year, according to the Houston Chronicle. It was the best year insurers have had in two decades and follows several years of double-digit rate increases and flat or slightly negative returns for insurers due to increased natural disasters.
Insurance rates increased statewide by an average of 4.3% last year, according to the Texas Department of Insurance, which was significantly lower than the rate increases of preceding years. Homeowners were still paying about 80% more for home insurance in 2025 than they paid in 2020.
Texas Department of Insurance Commissioner Amanda Crawford said given the profits Texas insurers reaped last year, they should “strongly consider whether or not a rate decrease might be in order.” However, insurers can change their rates without getting state approval.
Rates in Texas are among the highest in the country.
Paxton May Have Violated Election Law
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who created a tip line for the public to report suspected voter fraud, may have violated the law by voting in six elections using an address where he has not lived for two years, The Texas Tribune reported.
The attorney general’s election guidance includes a warning that “it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records or to establish a residence for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election.” It further states, “You must register to vote using the address where you reside.”
Paxton appears to have used an address where he didn’t live while voting, according to election records obtained by Pro Publica and The Texas Tribune. When his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce last year, she said Paxton had moved out of their Collin County home a year earlier, but Ken Paxton has continued to use that address when voting. He has been linked to a home in a gated community in neighboring Denton County since February. Neither Ken Paxton nor Angela Paxton responded to requests for comment. Ken Paxton is the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate in the November general election.
Talarico Far Outpaces Opponent in Fundraising
State Rep. James Talarico continues to dominate fundraising in the U.S. Senate race, raising $30 million in the second quarter, according to The Dallas Morning News. Meanwhile, Paxton reported his strongest fundraising quarter so far, with his campaign saying most donations came after the attorney general ousted Sen. John Cornyn in a late-May runoff.
“We are uniting Texans onto one team to change this broken, corrupt political system and bring down costs for working families,” Talarico said in a statement.
The Paxton campaign said its increased fundraising success reflects donor enthusiasm to “send a proven conservative fighter” to the U.S. Senate.