In a statement, Kitzman says TWIA is no longer serves the market of last resorts. It has a growing market share of 57.2, she adds.

“With no other significant source of funding to pay claims, this growth in exposure is an excessive burden on coastal citizens,” Kitzman says. TWIA was “overwhelmed” with claims following hurricanes Ike and Gustav in 2008.

“A fundamental restructuring of TWIA is necessary to address these and other operational issues,” Kitzman adds.

TWIA is still getting claims from Hurricane Ike. According to the Insurance Council of Texas, TWIA received a Hurricane Ike claims this month, more than three years after the storm hit.

New legislation enacted last September posts a cut-off point at one year for homeowners to file a claim following a storm, says Mark Hanna, ICT spokesman.

The legislation also calls for mediation and arbitration on hard-to-settle claims, he adds. Plus, in most cases, policyholders will only be allowed to seek actual damages from TWIA, unless clear and convincing evidence is presented that meets one of a handful of requirements.

Kitzman says she will additionally name a “technical advisory committee” to provide input into the restructuring process. The department says a consultant and the committee would be in place by April, with a final report due by June.

That would trump a report scheduled to come from a task force set up during the last legislative session to examine wind insurance in Texas as well as TWIA's operations. The task force is sisn;t scheduled to report to lawmakers until the next legislative session in 2013.