Take Action: Shouldn't Insurance Companies Be Good Neighbors?

State Farm Insurance recently announced that it will stop writing new policies in Mississippi simply because state leaders put pressure on the company to fulfill its commitments following Hurricane Katrina. Turns out, State Farm isn't such a good neighbor after all.

We shouldn't let the insurance industry get away with this in our state. We deserve a "Good Neighbor Pledge" from our insurance companies promising to stand by Texas families when the going gets tough.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin is responsible for making sure that the insurance industry treats Texans fairly. Write him today and ask him to obtain a "Good Neighbor Pledge" from every homeowners insurance carrier in our state. Texans face the very real threat of another major hurricane or other catastrophic event in our state. We purchase insurance to protect our most valuable assets in difficult times. Homeowners should not have to worry about whether their insurance company is going to flee the state when we need them most.

Write Commissioner Geeslin today. Tell him that truly good neighbors don't pull up stakes in tough times.

Past Stories:

STUDY LINKS DOCTOR ERRORS, BAD DIAGNOSES
ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dallas Morning News, 10/04/06
PHILADELPHIA - Basic errors made by doctors, including tests ordered too late or not at all and failure to create follow-up plans, played a role in nearly 60 percent of cases in which patients were allegedly hurt by missed or delayed diagnoses, a study found. Read More...

LEGAL LOOPHOLES IMMUNIZING NEGLIGENT DOCTORS FROM SUITS
COMMENTARY, Austin American-Statesman, 09/13/06
Our legal system is rigged. Texas families seeking their day in court are coming face-to-face with the reality that insurance companies dominate our courts and have run roughshod over our constitutional protections. Read More...

STATE DISCIPLINES 11 HOUSTON-AREA DOCTORS
By LEIGH HOPPER, Houston Chronicle, 06/13/06
A Baylor College of Medicine professor of plastic surgery, Dr. David T. Netscher, was fined $2,500 by state regulators after allegedly operating on the wrong finger in 2002, state regulators said this week. Read More...

STUDY: NO MALPRACTICE EPIDEMIC
By SANDRA G. BOODMAN, Washington Post, 06/06/06
For years the medical establishment has railed about an epidemic of baseless malpractice cases said to be driving up costs for patients and forcing them to find new physicians because doctors were retiring in droves. Read More...

GOING TO EXTREMES
Why a survey indicating Texas is tops in limiting lawsuit judgments is bad news for consumers.
EDITORIAL, Houston Chronicle, May 22, 2006
IF Texans needed any evidence that the tort reform drive in the state has gone too far, they need only look at a study conducted by a pro-business think tank, the Pacific Research Institute.Although its purpose is to promote further efforts around the country to limit the number of lawsuits and size of judgments, the survey rankings suggest that the last major tort reform legislation passed in the Texas Legislature in 2003 has tipped the balance too far in favor of defendants. Read More...

I-TEAM: STATE EMPLOYEE SOLD WILLED BODIES FOR PROFIT,
BUT LAW PREVENTS FAMILIES FROM SUING
By VICKI BUFFOLINO, KENS 5 Eyewitness News, May 17, 2006
Some families torn apart by the death of a loved one were forced to suffer an additional heartache when bodies that were supposed to help medical science instead were benefiting a Texas state employee. Now the KENS 5 I-Team has learned these South Texas families have been dealt another blow. Read More...

LOOKING TO AVOID RESPONSBILITY?? TEXAS (SADLY) THE PLACE TO BE
Corporate Wrongdoers Say Texas' Brand of "Justice" Works for Them
May 15, 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ALEX WINSLOW, 512-381-1111
Read More...

CRASH COURSE: ARE CITY, COUNTY INTIMIDATING CRASH VICTIMS?
By MARK GREENBLATT, KHOU 11-News, April 28, 2006
It happens every hour of every day, all around you and sometimes to you: accidents. But if you get hit by a city or county-owned vehicle, your troubles may just be the beginning. Read More...

WINSLOW: THE HUMAN TOLL OF TORT 'REFORM'
COMMENTARY by ALEX WINSLOW, Texas Watch, April 12, 2006
Angie Meza's daughter, Monica, was just 4 years old when she developed a fever with flu-like symptoms. The Pflugerville mother took her daughter to the pediatrician, where she was prescribed an antiviral with some cough medicine and sent home. Read More...

COMMENTARY: WITH TORT REFORM, POWERFUL SKIRT JUSTICE
By ALEX WINSLOW, San Antonio Express-News, March 7, 2006
The names have been changed to protect the privacy of the victim and her family. Sadly, however, the story is true. While in a San Antonio hospital receiving treatment for diabetes, Margaret developed a high fever and infection in her leg because health care workers neglected to remove a catheter. Doctors told her they would have to amputate her leg. Margaret's daughter, Carol, insisted on a second opinion, but it was too late. Doctors had already amputated her mother's leg only to find the radical procedure was not necessary. Margaret lost her leg for no reason. Read More...

INSURANCE COMPANIES BENEFIT FROM POLICIES
LETTER TO THE EDITOR, San Angelo Times, March 7, 2006
Editor: Columnist Deroy Murdock (''Lawsuits driving medical costs'' in the Feb. 27 Standard-Times) has spent too much time reading the insurance industry's talking points and not enough time learning the facts. His anecdotal argument about the ''effectiveness'' of insurance industry-backed proposals to strip away the legal rights of families devastated by medical malpractice holds no water. Read More...

PATIENT: I WAS AWAKE DURING SURGERY
By ERIN OCHOA, KVUE News, March 1, 2006
When it comes to having surgery, patients worry about all sorts of complications, from the risk of infection to the chance they won't wake up afterwards. But imagine waking up during surgery. Although rare, doctors say it is possible. Read More...

NEW STUDY POKES MORE HOLES IN TEXAS ANTI-PATIENT LAWS
Report Shows Rhetoric Doesn't Match Reality on So-Called Tort "Reforms"
January 6, 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ALEX WINSLOW, 512-381-1111
Read More...

TORT REFORM PROMISES TO BE KEY ISSUE IN OKLAHOMA IN 2006
By SEAN MURPHY, ASSOCIATED PRESS, February 2, 2006
Dr. Elaine Davis, an obstetrician and gynecologist in the rural northwest Oklahoma community of Enid for nearly 40 years, loved practicing medicine. But at age 68, she thought it was time to ease back on her patient load and quit working 12-hour days. Read More...

CAMPAIGN 2006: TRUTH IN ADVERTISING
By MARK DONALD, Texas Lawyer, January 23, 2006
It's campaign season again and sadly, some candidates - those with big, fat war chests - have made media buys and are airing radio and television spots in mind-numbing repetition. Although it seems far too early to listen to the puffery of a gaggle of gubernatorial, congressional, judicial and legislative candidates, the March primaries will soon be upon us. The November general election will arrive with all deliberate speed as well. Read More...

FDA TRIES TO LIMIT DRUG SUITS IN STATE COURTS
Agency's 'Federal Preemption' Policy Included in Labeling Guidelines for Medications
By MARC KAUFMAN, Washington Post, January 19, 2006
People who believe they were injured by drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration should not be allowed to sue drug companies in state courts, the agency said yesterday in a formal policy statement. Read More...

FDA PLAN WOULD AID DRUG MAKERS IN LIABILITY SUITES
Agency's Approved Labels Would Pre-empt State Law; Plaintiffs' Lawyers Object
By ANNA WILDE MATHEWS, Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2006
The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to declare that federally approved medication labels pre-empt state law, a move that could strengthen pharmaceutical makers' defenses against lawsuits claiming injury by the companies' products. Read More...

CALCULATING MALPRACTICE CLAIMS
Study by Consumers Group Suggests Insurers Set Premiums Based on Market, Not Their Losses
By DEAN STARKMAN, Washington Post, December 29, 2005
The insurance industry has long argued that huge losses from malpractice suits -- now running more than $7 billion a year -- have forced it to hike malpractice premiums, which more than doubled last year in some cities and for some specialties. But a new study by a consumer group shows that losses reported to state regulators -- the figures often cited by the industry -- were much larger than losses actually paid during a nine-year period. Read More...

TWO YEARS LATER, PROPOSITION 12 GETS AN "F"
No improvements for average Texans ; Only beneficiaries are wrongdoers and insurance companies
September 12, 2005, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ALEX WINSLOW, 512-381-1111
Read More...