Texas Department of Insurance

Final Results of Last Sunset Review

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) regulates the insurance industry in Texas to ensure that Texas consumers have access to competitive and fair insurance products. TDI regulates insurance companies’ solvency, rates, forms, and market conduct; licenses individuals and entities involved in selling insurance policies; provides consumer education on insurance and resolves consumer complaints; investigates and takes enforcement action against those who violate insurance laws or rules; and provides fire prevention services across the state through the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The Department also regulates workers’ compensation in Texas through the Division of Workers’ Compensation. Information about the Division can be found in a separate section of this report.

House Bill 1951 continues TDI for 12 years. The Legislature adopted all of the Sunset Commission’s recommendations and added several other statutory modifications to H.B. 1951. A discussion of the bill’s major provisions follows.

• Provide clarity, predictability, and transparency to rate regulation of property and casualty insurance.
• Require TDI to assess what information is needed to promulgate title insurance every five years.
• Eliminate 15 of TDI’s advisory committees from statute.
• Target the State Fire Marshal’s Office’s inspections of buildings to reduce the risk of fire hazard.
• Provide the State Fire Marshal’s Office the ability to issue fines to ensure licensee compliance.
• Amend the Insurance Code to clearly permit businesses and consumers to conduct business electronically if the parties agree.
• Require TDI to study the accuracy of the designation of areas underserved for residential property insurance and the qualifications for reduced rate filing requirements for insurers serving these areas.
• Continue the Texas Department of Insurance for 12 years.
• Specify that property and casualty rate filings are public information subject to the State’s open records law.
• Prohibit a personal property and casualty insurer from reporting inquiries to a claims database until a claim has been filed.
• Require certain health care plans to provide enrollees a 60-day notice of premium increases and enhanced consumer information.
• Authorize TDI to adopt rules necessary to increase the availability of insurance to children under 19 years of age.
• Prohibit health plans from requiring a therapeutic optometrist or ophthalmologist to participate in a particular vision panel as a condition for inclusion in the plan’s medical panel.
• Provide an exemption from agent licensure for persons writing a limited amount of job protection insurance.
• Amend reinsurance requirements for certain companies writing surety bonds in Texas.
• Amend the requirements for licensure as a residential fire alarm technician.
• Establish an Insurance Adjuster Advisory Board.