Texas Occupations Code Title 5, Chapter 953 - Regulation Of For-profit Legal Service Contract Companies

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 953.001 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Administrator" means the person responsible for the administration of a legal service contract. The term includes a person responsible for any...
• Texas Section 953.002 - Exemptions
  This chapter does not apply to: (1) a nonprofit legal services corporation under Chapter 961, Insurance Code; (2) an automobile club supplying services under Chapter...
• Texas Section 953.003 - Exemptions From Certain Other Laws
  The acts of marketing, selling, offering for sale, issuing, making, proposing to make, and administering a legal service contract that is regulated by this chapter...
• Texas Section 953.004 - Prepaid Legal Service Contract Programs
  (a) An insurer who issues or renews prepaid legal service contracts under Article 5.13-1, Insurance Code, shall notify the commissioner of insurance in writing not...

SUBCHAPTER B REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

• Texas Section 953.005 - Powers And Duties Of Executive Director
  (a) The executive director may investigate a company, administrator, sales representative, or other person as necessary to enforce this chapter and protect legal service contract...
• Texas Section 953.051 - Registration Required
  (a) A person may not operate as a company or sales representative of legal service contracts sold in this state unless the person is registered...
• Texas Section 953.052 - Application For Registration
  (a) An applicant for registration must submit an application to the department. The application must be in the form prescribed by the executive director. (b)...
• Texas Section 953.053 - Fees
  (a) The executive director shall develop a tiered fee schedule of annual registration fees under which a company's registration fee is based on the number...
• Texas Section 953.054 - Information Concerning Number Of Legal Service Contracts Sold
  Information concerning the number of legal service contracts sold by a company that is submitted under Section 953.053 is a trade secret to which Section...
• Texas Section 953.055 - Additional Requirements For Sales Representatives
  (a) The executive director may deny an application from a sales representative who: (1) made a material misrepresentation or fraudulent statement in the application; (2)...
• Texas Section 953.056 - Modification Of Registration Information
  The executive director may adopt rules regarding the procedures and fees a company or sales representative must follow and pay when requesting a modification to...

SUBCHAPTER C FINANCIAL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR LEGAL SERVICE CONTRACT COMPANIES

• Texas Section 953.057 - Renewal Of Registration
  The executive director shall adopt rules for the renewal of a company's or sales representative's registration, including a rule that addresses late renewals. Added by...
• Texas Section 953.101 - Financial Security Requirements
  (a) To ensure the faithful performance of a company's obligations to its legal service contract holders, each company must deposit and maintain a form of...
• Texas Section 953.102 - Replacement Or Renewal Of Financial Security
  (a) If a company's financial security under Section 953.101 is issued or written for a specified term, not later than the 90th day before the...
• Texas Section 953.103 - Duration Of Deposit Of Financial Security
  The executive director shall maintain a company's financial security deposit so long as the company continues to do business in this state. When a company...
• Texas Section 953.104 - Suit On Financial Security
  (a) The state, on behalf of a legal service contract holder injured because of a company's violation of this chapter, may bring a suit for...

SUBCHAPTER D PRACTICE BY LEGAL SERVICE CONTRACT COMPANIES

• Texas Section 953.105 - Additional Financial Security Requirements
  (a) The executive director shall annually review: (1) the audited financial statements of a company; and (2) a certified statement describing the company's reserves, if...
• Texas Section 953.151 - Company Requirements
  (a) A company may not sell, offer for sale, or issue a legal service contract in this state unless the company gives the legal service...
• Texas Section 953.152 - Group Legal Service Contracts
  A company may issue group legal service contracts. The company shall provide a legal service contract holder who obtains a group contract with a document...
• Texas Section 953.153 - Contracting Attorney Requirements
  A contracting attorney must: (1) be licensed in the jurisdiction in which the legal services are performed; (2) be in good standing with the entity...
• Texas Section 953.154 - Company Interference With Attorney's Duties Prohibited
  A company may not interfere with the attorney-client relationship or with the contracting attorney's independent exercise of professional judgment. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg.,...
• Texas Section 953.155 - Company Records
  (a) A company shall maintain accurate accounts, books, and other records regarding transactions regulated under this chapter. The company's records must include: (1) a copy...
• Texas Section 953.156 - Form Of Legal Service Contract And Required Disclosures
  (a) A legal service contract must be filed with the executive director before it is marketed, sold, offered for sale, administered, or issued in this...
• Texas Section 953.157 - Terminating A Legal Service Contract
  A legal service contract holder may terminate the legal service contract if the legal service contract holder provides the company with written notice of the...
• Texas Section 953.158 - Voiding A Legal Service Contract
  (a) If a legal service contract holder terminates a legal service contract in accordance with Section 953.157 and the holder has not sought legal services...
• Texas Section 953.159 - Canceling A Legal Service Contract
  (a) A company may cancel a legal service contract by mailing a written notice of cancellation to the legal service contract holder at the legal...
• Texas Section 953.160 - Limitations On Company Name
  (a) A company may not use a name that: (1) includes "insurance," "casualty," "surety," or "mutual" or any other word descriptive of the insurance, casualty,...
• Texas Section 953.161 - Misleading Statements Prohibited
  A company, a sales representative, or a representative of a sales representative may not, in the company's contracts or marketing: (1) make, permit, or cause...

SUBCHAPTER E DISCIPLINARY ACTION

• Texas Section 953.162 - Appointment And Responsibilities Of Administrator
  (a) A company may appoint an administrator or designate a person to be responsible for: (1) all or any part of the administration or sale...
• Texas Section 953.201 - Disciplinary Action
  On a finding that a ground for disciplinary action exists under this chapter, the executive director may impose an administrative sanction, including any administrative penalty,...
• Texas Section 953.202 - Emergency Cease And Desist Order
  (a) The executive director may issue an emergency cease and desist order to enforce this chapter if the executive director determines that an emergency exists...
• Texas Section 953.203 - Injunctive Relief; Civil Penalty
  (a) The executive director may institute an action against a company or sales representative for injunctive relief under Section 51.352 to restrain a violation or...
• Texas Section 953.204 - Administrative Procedure
  Sections 51.310, 51.353, and 51.354 apply to a disciplinary action taken under this chapter. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1181, Sec. 1, eff....
• Texas Section 953.205 - Appeal
  A person affected by a ruling, order, decision, or other action of the executive director or department may appeal by filing a petition in a...

Last modified: September 28, 2016