Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2374 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	~~86R29699~~ SCL-F
	1	+	86R10965 SCL-F
2	2		By: J. Johnson of Dallas H.B. No. 2374
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2374:
4		-	By: Lucio III C.S.H.B. No. 2374
5	3
6	4
7	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	6		AN ACT
9		-	relating to prohibiting oral releases for automobile insurance
10		-	claims.
	7	+	relating to claims settlement for automobile insurance.
11	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	9		SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 10, Insurance Code, is amended
13	10		by adding Chapter 1955 to read as follows:
14		-	CHAPTER 1955. ~~ORAL RELEASES~~ FOR AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE ~~CLAIMS~~
	11	+	CHAPTER 1955. CLAIMS SETTLEMENT FOR AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE
15	12		Sec. 1955.0001. PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to
16	13		protect those injured by motorists from predatory practices engaged
17	14		in by personal and commercial automobile insurers that seek to
18	15		induce injured motorists into settling and releasing their legal
19	16		claims for an amount that is insufficient to compensate their
20	17		losses at a time when these losses are not known with any certainty,
21	18		resulting in costs both to the injured person and medical providers
22	19		whose care and services may go uncompensated as a result of those
23	20		predatory insurance practices.
24	21		Sec. 1955.0002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
25	22		(1) "Claimant" means an individual who has a claim for
26	23		an injury against another individual or an entity.
27	24		(2) "Injury" means a bodily or psychological injury.
28		-	(3) "Oral release" means an oral contract under which
29		-	a claimant releases, wholly or partly, one or more of the claimant's
30		-	claims arising out of an injury for which an insurer may be liable
31		-	under an automobile insurance policy in exchange for money or other
32		-	consideration paid.
	25	+	(3) "Release" means a written or oral contract under
	26	+	which a claimant releases, wholly or partly, one or more of the
	27	+	claimant's claims arising out of an injury for which an insurer may
	28	+	be liable under an automobile insurance policy in exchange for
	29	+	money or other consideration paid by any releasee.
	30	+	(4) "Releasee" means an individual, entity, or insurer
	31	+	released from a claimant's claim in a release.
33	32		Sec. 1955.0003. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
34	33		applies to an insurer writing personal or commercial automobile
35	34		insurance in this state, including an insurance company,
36	35		corporation, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, mutual
37		-	insurance company, county mutual insurance company, association,
38		-	Lloyd's plan, or other insurer.
39		-	Sec. 1955.0004. ORAL RELEASE OF CLAIMS PROHIBITED. A
40		-	claimant and an insurer or another individual or entity may not
41		-	enter into an oral release. A release made in exchange for money or
42		-	other consideration paid for the claimant's claim arising out of an
43		-	injury for which an insurer may be liable under an automobile
44		-	insurance policy is not enforceable unless the contract is in
45		-	writing.
	36	+	insurance company, association, Lloyd's plan, or other insurer.
	37	+	Sec. 1955.0004. VOIDABLE RELEASE OF CLAIMS. (a) A release
	38	+	is voidable by the claimant in accordance with this section if:
	39	+	(1) the claimant entered into the release on or before
	40	+	the 45th day after the date the cause of action that is the basis for
	41	+	the released claim accrued; and
	42	+	(2) the claimant was not represented by an attorney at
	43	+	the time the claimant entered into the release.
	44	+	(b) Not later than the first anniversary after the date the
	45	+	release was entered into, a claimant may void a release under this
	46	+	section by providing written notice of the claimant's intent to
	47	+	void the release to each releasee.
	48	+	(c) Any consideration paid to the claimant by or on behalf
	49	+	of the releasee in exchange for a release voided under this section
	50	+	must be credited against any award or payment made in connection
	51	+	with a claim against the releasee arising from the cause of action
	52	+	that is the basis for the previously released claim.
46	53		SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
47		-	a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2020. A contract
48		-	entered into before January 1, 2020, is governed by the law as it
49		-	existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that
50		-	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	54	+	an automobile insurance policy delivered, issued for delivery, or
	55	+	renewed on or after January 1, 2020. A policy delivered, issued for
	56	+	delivery, or renewed before January 1, 2020, is governed by the law
	57	+	as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
	58	+	that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
51	59		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.