85R12424 SMT-D
By: Anderson of Dallas H.B. No. 2131
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2131:
By: Phillips C.S.H.B. No. 2131
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of insurance adjusters.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 4101.002(a), Insurance Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) This chapter does not apply to:
(1) an attorney who:
(A) adjusts insurance losses periodically and
incidentally to the practice of law; and
(B) does not represent that the attorney is an
adjuster;
(2) a salaried employee of an insurer who is not
regularly engaged in the adjustment, investigation, or supervision
of insurance claims;
(3) a person employed only to furnish technical
assistance to a licensed adjuster, including:
(A) an attorney;
(B) an engineer;
(C) an estimator;
(D) a handwriting expert;
(E) a photographer; and
(F) a private detective;
(4) an agent or general agent of an authorized insurer
who processes an undisputed or uncontested loss for the insurer
under a policy issued by the agent or general agent;
(5) a person who performs clerical duties and does not
negotiate with parties to disputed or contested claims;
(6) a person who handles claims arising under life,
accident, and health insurance policies;
(7) a person:
(A) who is employed principally as:
(i) a right-of-way agent; or
(ii) a right-of-way and claims agent;
(B) whose primary responsibility is the
acquisition of easements, leases, permits, or other real property
rights; and
(C) who handles only claims arising out of
operations under those easements, leases, permits, or other
contracts or contractual obligations;
(8) an individual who is employed to investigate
suspected fraudulent insurance claims but who does not adjust
losses or determine claims payments;
(9) a public insurance adjuster licensed under Chapter
4102; [or]
(10) an individual who:
(A) collects claim information from, or
furnishes claim information to, an insured or claimant and enters
data into an automated claims adjudication system; and
(B) is employed by a licensed independent
adjuster or its affiliate under circumstances in which no more than
25 individuals performing duties described by Paragraph (A) are
supervised by a single licensed independent adjuster or a single
licensed agent; or
(11) an individual employed by an insurer or an
affiliate of the insurer who adjusts a loss not to exceed $500, or
authorizes a payment on a claim for a loss for which there is a
specified coverage limit of $500 or less, arising from a
first-party claim under a property and casualty insurance policy.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.