84R12646 PMO-D
By: Miller of Comal H.B. No. 3754
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to access to consumer information regarding roofing
contractors.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Insurance Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 525 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 525. CONSUMER GUIDE TO ROOFING CONTRACTORS
Sec. 525.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "roofing
contractor" means an individual or entity that installs,
constructs, maintains, repairs, alters, or modifies a roofing
product for a commercial or residential roof.
Sec. 525.002. CONSUMER GUIDE; ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The
department shall develop a consumer guide to post on the
department's Internet website that consumers may access to obtain
information about selecting a roofing contractor in connection with
an insurance claim.
(b) The commissioner shall appoint a committee to advise the
department regarding the information to include in the consumer
guide. The advisory committee shall be composed of an equal number
of members from each of the following groups of stakeholders:
(1) roofing contractors, including independent
roofing contractors;
(2) license holders under Chapters 4101 and 4102;
(3) property and casualty insurers; and
(4) consumers.
Sec. 525.003. CONSUMER GUIDE INFORMATION FOR CLAIMANTS.
The commissioner by rule shall require, in consultation with the
advisory committee established under Section 525.002, an insurer to
include with the insurer's acknowledgment of receipt of the claim
under Section 542.055 for a loss related to a roof:
(1) notice that a consumer guide to selecting a
roofing contractor in connection with the claim is available on the
department's Internet website and the Internet address of the
department's website; or
(2) the information included in the consumer guide
developed under Section 525.002.
SECTION 2. The commissioner of insurance shall ensure that
the consumer guide developed under Section 525.002, Insurance Code,
as added by this Act, is posted on the Internet website of the Texas
Department of Insurance and available to insurers for inclusion in
an acknowledgment of the receipt of a claim not later than January
1, 2016.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.