I’ve seen a lot of questionable conduct by insurance companies, but the latest proposal may take the cake.

Texas Farm Bureau is now petitioning the Texas Department of Insurance to allow it to offer a “discount” to its home insurance customers in exchange for customers giving up their rights to a fair trial of any dispute.

But the good folks at Texas Watch have been trying to find out the details on this backroom deal and have come up with some details about the proposal.

First, the proposal tries to take away customers’ rights by requiring mandatory arbitration clauses.  Under the provision,

all disputes would go to mandatory, binding arbitration;

• the insurance company has already selected the arbitration company (in essence, the private judge hearing your case);
• the insurance company pays for the judge; and
• the results are secret.

Gee, if your dispute is decided by a judge hand-picked by the insurance company and paid by the insurance company, I wonder how the results will come out?  You already know the likely answer to that.  That’s why several states forbid these types of arbitration clauses in insurance policies.

But what do you get for giving up those rights?  According to the proposal, homeowners are supposed to get a discount on their premiums.

But lo and behold, what did Texas Watch undercover when they filed open records requests with the Texas Department of Insurance?  That the “discounts” appear to be conveniently equal to the amounts that Texas Farm Bureau has already raised rates.  These types of bogus discounts — raising the price and then saying you’re offering a discount — would likely be illegal in most other contexts.  But here, there’s a real risk that the Texas Department of Insurance will approve them.

And don’t think this is just about Texas Farm Bureau.  If this type of conduct is approved by the Department of Insurance, other insurance companies will likely follow suit. Yours could be next.

But the agriculture industry, a powerful constituency generally aligned with conservatism, resoundingly advocates for immigration reform. And that rural call is perhaps loudest in Texas.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and the Texas Farm Bureau, its local chapter, have repeatedly ventured to Capitol Hill this year to lobby for immigration reform. They call for legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, similar to a bill that passed the U.S. Senate in 2013. The agricultural sector has been full-throated in its support of what it perceives to be its interests, especially since the timing of the immigration debate coincides with an important debate over a new farm bill. Whether through price supports or through a guaranteed flow of immigrant farm workers, agricultural supporters are hoping to protect their farms.

“Let’s just cut to the chase on this thing: 85 percent of the agricultural labor that goes on in the state of Texas … is done by either undocumented or illegally documented people,” said Steve Pringle, legislative director for the Texas Farm Bureau. “If and when that labor supply is not there, that production simply goes out of business.” Representatives for the Texas Farm Bureau are among the most avid supporters of immigration reform. 

However, if one considers the importance of the agricultural sector in the overall economy of Texas, the farm lobby’s stance acquires a more general appeal.

Agriculture’s importance to the Lone Star State’s economy is quite clear:

Texas ranks second in the nation for total agricultural receipts (behind California)
Texas is first in the nation for total livestock and livestock product receipts, which includes 20 percent of the nation’s beef cattle and its largest concentration of sheep
As the nation’s top producer of cotton, Texas accounts for 29 percent of U.S. cotton revenues
Texas is the third biggest producer of nursery and greenhouse products as well as a leading producer of various grains, fruits and nuts

The increasingly noticeable rift between the agricultural sector and conservative political figures has grown at home as well as in Washington. Indeed, all the leading candidates for statewide offices (including lieutenant governor and agriculture commissioner) have been have been diametrically opposed to the position on immigration reform supported by the Texas Farm Bureau.

“Let’s just put it this way,” Pringle said. “We are finding conservative Republicans less and less supportive of agriculture.”

A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an attorney, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.

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