Articles
Insurance Article by former Senator Ted Lyons
Our State Capital is totally corrupt and as Lord Acton once said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Our state government is so totally controlled by the insurance industry that Texas rate payers pay the highest rates in the nation for almost all forms of insurance. For example, our homeowner’s rates are the highest in the nation and our car insurance and liability rates are among the highest. Our businesses pay for the worst worker’s compensation system in the nation, a system that has resulted in exorbitant workers compensation rates that provide little benefit to our injured workers.
The amount of money that I am talking about here boggles the mind. We are talking billions and billions of dollars that are being sucked out of our Texas economy and headed to either the east or west coast. In 2004 alone, Texas homeowners were overcharged by nearly 4 billion dollars. Private passenger vehicle owners were overcharged by 1.8 billion dollars. That is an average of about $600.00 for every homeowner in Texas.
Welcome to the Republican Nation - a place that is controlled by lobbyists for the insurance companies, who control the Republican Party who control Texas. How did we get here and what can we do to change it? About 15 years ago the insurance industry decided that they were going to make every effort to control the legislative, executive and judicial branches of our government. They also decided that they were going to initiate a public relations war using as their boogey men, trial lawyers and the jury system. Through slick public relations gimmicks and down right lies they have succeeded beyond their wildest imaginations. If you examine the legislature you'll find that insurance companies and defense lawyers control key committees in both the House and the Senate. Senator Bob Duncan was the Senate Sponsor for HB4 and his House counterpart was Representative Joe Nixon. Both of these men are featured prominently on the Texans for Lawsuit Reform website. Texans for Lawsuit Reform receives huge contributions from insurance companies and insurance affiliated businesses. Both of these men do nothing else in their profession but represent insurance companies. The power of the insurance industry goes much further, however and one only has to look at the House of Representative in the Dallas area to understand this influence. In Dallas alone, four members of the House are either insurance agents, lawyers for insurance companies or have spouses that work for insurance companies.
When you look to the governor’s office you can see the power of the insurance industry exemplified at its fullest. While Rick Perry has been in office his Chief of Staff has always been an ex-lobbyist for the insurance industry. Mike Toomey was Perry’s Chief of Staff, during his first term and part of his second. Toomey, before taking his position as Chief of Staff was one of the highest paid lobbyists in Austin. While he was Chief of Staff he received a check each month from another insurance lobbyist who he supposedly sold his client base to. Perry’s next Chief of Staff was also a highly paid lobbyist who also represented insurance companies before he became Perry’s Chief of Staff. I could go on and on, but what I have written about here is simply the tip of the iceberg.
What can we do about it, you ask? There is not a single person in public office that cannot be beaten with the record that I am talking about. Every single member of the House or Senate who votes consistently with the insurance companies can be beaten if the right candidate runs against them. What we need to do is to recruit good candidates on a bipartisan basis who will articulate these issues and run for office. If you are interested in running for office yourself or recruiting candidates, then email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Together we can turn Texas around.
Ted Lyon
Former Senator Ted Lyon served 14 years in the Texas Legislature. He was voted 27 times by various different groups as one of the outstanding members of the Texas Legislature. He is a practicing attorney and business man in Dallas County and has been selected numerous times as one of Texas’ Super Lawyers by Texas Monthly magazine and Texas Lawyer. He is the current president of the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association.
