83R10746 PMO-D
By: Smithee H.B. No. 3694
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation and oversight of the Texas Windstorm
Insurance Association and other insurance entities; increasing a
surcharge.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 441.105(c), Insurance Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The commissioner shall [may] release the insurer from
supervision if, after the hearing, it is determined that the
insurer:
(1) has been rehabilitated; or
(2) is no longer in a condition that makes the
insurer's continuation in business hazardous to the public or to
the insurer's policyholders or certificate holders.
SECTION 2. Section 2210.107(b), Insurance Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) Each month [Every two months], the general manager of
the association shall submit to the board a report evaluating the
extent to which the association met the objectives described by
Subsection (a) in the two-month period immediately preceding the
date of the report.
SECTION 3. Section 2210.204, Insurance Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) An insured who without cause cancels or allows to lapse
insurance coverage issued by the association may not subsequently
obtain coverage from the association for the previously insured
property until on or after the anniversary of the date the policy
was canceled or lapsed.
SECTION 4. Section 2210.259(a), Insurance Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A noncompliant residential structure insured by the
association as of September 1, 2009, under Section 2210.251(f) that
had been approved for insurability under the approval process
regulations in effect on September 1, 2009, is subject to an annual
premium surcharge in an amount equal to 20 [15] percent of the
premium for insurance coverage obtained through the association.
The surcharge under this subsection applies to each policy issued
or renewed by the association on or after the effective date of
Sections 5 through 49, H.B. No. 4409, Acts of the 81st Legislature,
Regular Session, 2009, and is due on the issuance or renewal of the
policy.
SECTION 5. Section 2210.363(a), Insurance Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The association shall [may] offer a person insured under
this chapter an actuarially justified premium discount on a policy
issued by the association, or an actuarially justified credit
against a surcharge assessed against the person, other than a
surcharge assessed under Subchapter M, if:
(1) the construction, alteration, remodeling,
enlargement, or repair of, or an addition to, insurable property
exceeds applicable building code standards set forth in the plan of
operation; or
(2) the person elects to purchase a binding
arbitration endorsement under Section 2210.554.
SECTION 6. Section 2210.576(b), Insurance Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d), a
claimant that brings an action against the association under
Section 2210.575 may recover only:
(1) the covered loss payable under the terms of the
association policy less, if applicable, the amount of loss already
paid by the association for any portion of a covered loss for which
the association accepted coverage;
(2) prejudgment interest from the first day after the
date specified in Section 2210.5731 by which the association was or
would have been required to pay an accepted claim or the accepted
portion of a claim, at the prejudgment interest rate provided in
Subchapter B, Chapter 304, Finance Code; and
(3) court costs and reasonable and necessary
attorney's fees and expert witness fees.
SECTION 7. Sections 2152.004, 2210.005, 2210.0081, and
2211.156, Insurance Code, are repealed.
SECTION 8. (a) Section 441.105(c), Insurance Code, as
amended by this Act, applies to a determination by the commissioner
of insurance made on or after the effective date of this Act. A
determination made before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective
date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
(b) Section 2210.204(f), Insurance Code, as added by this
Act, applies to a cancellation or lapse of a policy on or after the
effective date of this Act. A cancellation or lapse before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) Sections 2210.259(a) and 2210.363(a), Insurance Code,
as amended by this Act, apply only to an insurance policy that is
delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1,
2014. A policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed before
January 1, 2014, is governed by the law as it existed immediately
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
(d) Section 2210.576(b), Insurance Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to an action filed on or after the effective date
of this Act. An action filed before the effective date of this Act
is covered by the law in effect on the date the action was filed, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.