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Texas Insurance Code - Section 38.002. Underwriting Guidelines For Personal Automobile And Residential Property Insurance; Filing; Confidentiality

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Insurance Code > Texas Insurance Code - Section 38.002. Underwriting Guidelines For Personal Automobile And Residential Property Insurance; Filing; Confidentiality

§ 38.002. UNDERWRITING GUIDELINES FOR PERSONAL AUTOMOBILE 
AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY INSURANCE;  FILING;  
CONFIDENTIALITY.  (a) In this section:
		(1)  "Insurer" means an insurance company, reciprocal 
or interinsurance exchange, mutual insurance company, capital 
stock company, county mutual insurance company, Lloyd's plan, or 
other legal entity engaged in the business of personal automobile 
insurance or residential property insurance in this state.  The 
term includes:
			(A)  an affiliate as described by Section 2, 
Article 21.49-1, or Section 823.003(a) if that affiliate is 
authorized to write and is writing personal automobile insurance or 
residential property insurance in this state;
			(B)  the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association 
created and operated under Article 21.49;
			(C)  the FAIR Plan Association under Article 
21.49A;  and                  
			(D)  the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan 
Association under Article 21.81.  
		(2)  "Personal automobile insurance" means motor 
vehicle insurance coverage for the ownership, maintenance, or use 
of a private passenger, utility, or miscellaneous type motor 
vehicle, including a motor home, mobile home, trailer, or 
recreational vehicle, that is:
			(A)  owned or leased by an individual or 
individuals;  and                 
			(B)  not primarily used for the delivery of goods, 
materials, or services, other than for use in farm or ranch 
operations.
		(3)  "Residential property insurance" means insurance 
coverage against loss to residential real property at a fixed 
location or tangible personal property provided in a homeowners 
policy, which includes a tenant policy, a condominium owners 
policy, or a residential fire and allied lines policy.
		(4)  "Underwriting guideline" means a rule, standard, 
guideline, or practice, whether written, oral, or electronic, that 
is used by an insurer or its agent to decide whether to accept or 
reject an application for coverage under a personal automobile 
insurance policy or residential property insurance policy or to 
determine how to classify those risks that are accepted for the 
purpose of determining a rate.
	(b)  Each insurer shall file with the department a copy of 
the insurer's underwriting guidelines.  The insurer shall update 
its filing each time the underwriting guidelines are changed.  If a 
group of insurers files one set of underwriting guidelines for the 
group, they shall identify which underwriting guidelines apply to 
each company in the group.
	(c)  The office of public insurance counsel may obtain a copy 
of each insurer's underwriting guidelines.
	(d)  The department or the office of public insurance counsel 
may disclose to the public a summary of an insurer's underwriting 
guidelines in a manner that does not directly or indirectly 
identify the insurer.
	(e)  Underwriting guidelines must be sound, actuarially 
justified, or otherwise substantially commensurate with the 
contemplated risk.  Underwriting guidelines may not be unfairly 
discriminatory.
	(f)  The underwriting guidelines are subject to Chapter 552, 
Government Code.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 206, § 8.01, eff. June 11, 
2003.      

Last modified: August 11, 2007