85R25168 PMO-F
By: Clardy, Muñoz, Jr. H.B. No. 3804
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3804:
By: Phillips C.S.H.B. No. 3804
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain insurance practices with respect to repair of
motor vehicles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 1952, Insurance Code, is
amended by adding Section 1952.300 to read as follows:
Sec. 1952.300. DEFINITIONS. (a) In this subchapter,
"estimating system" means an automobile collision damage
estimating system that is generally accepted by the automobile
repair industry for use in writing an automobile repair estimate.
(b) In this subchapter, "repair person or facility" does not
include a person who exclusively provides automobile glass
replacement, glass repair services, or glass products.
SECTION 2. Section 1952.301, Insurance Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1952.301. LIMITATION ON PARTS, PRODUCTS, OR REPAIR
PERSONS OR FACILITIES PROHIBITED. (a) Except as provided by rules
adopted by the commissioner, under an automobile insurance policy
that is delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state, an
insurer may not directly or indirectly limit the insurer's coverage
under a policy covering damage to a motor vehicle by[:
[(1)] specifying the brand, type, kind, age, vendor,
supplier, or condition of parts or products that may be used to
repair the vehicle. [; or]
(a-1) Under an automobile insurance policy that is
delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state, an
insurer, an employee or agent of an insurer, an insurance adjuster,
or an entity that employs an insurance adjuster may not directly or
indirectly limit the insurer's coverage under a policy covering
damage to a motor vehicle by:
(1) [(2)] limiting the beneficiary of the policy from
selecting a repair person or facility to repair damage to the
vehicle to the vehicle's condition before the damage occurred in
order for the beneficiary to obtain the repair without owing any
out-of-pocket cost other than the deductible;
(2) intimidating, coercing, or threatening the
beneficiary to induce the beneficiary to use a particular repair
person or facility; or
(3) offering an incentive or inducement, other than a
warranty issued by the insurer or a repair person or facility, for
the beneficiary to use a particular repair person or facility.
(b) In settling a liability claim by a third party against
an insured for property damage claimed by the third party, an
insurer, an employee or agent of an insurer, an insurance adjuster,
or an entity that employs an insurance adjuster may not:
(1) require the third-party claimant to have repairs
made by a particular repair person or facility; [or]
(2) require the third-party claimant to use a
particular brand, type, kind, age, vendor, supplier, or condition
of parts or products to repair damage to the vehicle to the
vehicle's condition before the damage occurred;
(3) intimidate, coerce, or threaten the third-party
claimant to induce the claimant to use a particular repair person or
facility; or
(4) offer an incentive or inducement, other than a
warranty issued by the insurer or a repair person or facility, for
the third-party claimant to use a particular repair person or
facility.
SECTION 3. Section 1952.302, Insurance Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1952.302. PROHIBITED ACTS IN CONNECTION WITH REPAIR OF
MOTOR VEHICLE. In connection with the repair of damage to a motor
vehicle covered under an automobile insurance policy, an insurer,
an employee or agent of an insurer, an insurance adjuster, or an
entity that employs an insurance adjuster may not:
(1) solicit or accept a referral fee or gratuity in
exchange for referring a beneficiary or third-party claimant to a
repair person or facility to repair the damage;
(2) state or suggest, either orally or in writing, to a
beneficiary that the beneficiary must use a specific repair person
or facility or a repair person or facility identified on a preferred
list compiled by an insurer for the damage repair or parts
replacement to be covered by the policy; [or]
(3) restrict the right of a beneficiary or third-party
claimant to choose a repair person or facility by requiring the
beneficiary or third-party claimant to travel a [an unreasonable]
distance considered inconvenient by a beneficiary or third-party
claimant to repair the damage; or
(4) disregard a repair operation or cost identified by
an estimating system, including the system's procedural pages,
selected by the insurer for use in writing the automobile repair
estimate for the motor vehicle.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an insurance policy that is delivered, issued for delivery, or
renewed on or after January 1, 2018. A policy delivered, issued for
delivery, or renewed before that date 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.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.