88R6516 CJD-F
By: Capriglione H.B. No. 1656
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the payment of deductibles under automobile insurance
policies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 27.02(a), (b), and (c), Business &
Commerce Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Automobile insurance policy" means an insurance
policy issued by an insurer, including a county mutual insurance
company, Lloyd's plan, or reciprocal or interinsurance exchange,
that provides first-party coverage for loss of or damage to an
automobile.
(2) "Property [, "property] insurance policy" has the
meaning assigned by Section 707.001, Insurance Code.
(b) A contract to provide a good or service that is
reasonably expected to be paid wholly or partly from the proceeds of
a claim under a property or automobile insurance policy and that has
a contract price of $1,000 or more must contain the following notice
in at least 12-point boldfaced type: "Texas law requires a person
insured under a property or automobile insurance policy to pay any
deductible applicable to a claim made under the policy. It is a
violation of Texas law for a seller of goods or services who
reasonably expects to be paid wholly or partly from the proceeds of
a property or automobile insurance claim to knowingly allow the
insured person to fail to pay, or assist the insured person's
failure to pay, the applicable insurance deductible."
(c) A person who sells goods or services commits an offense
if the person:
(1) advertises or promises to provide a good or
service to an insured under a property or automobile insurance
policy in a transaction in which:
(A) the good or service will be paid for by the
insured from the proceeds of a property or automobile insurance
claim; and
(B) the person selling the good or service will,
without the insurer's consent:
(i) pay, waive, absorb, or otherwise
decline to charge or collect the amount of the insured's
deductible;
(ii) provide a rebate or credit in
connection with the sale of the good or service that will offset all
or part of the amount paid by the insured as a deductible; or
(iii) in any other manner assist the
insured in avoiding monetary payment of the required insurance
deductible; or
(2) provides a good or service to an insured under a
property or automobile insurance policy knowing that the insured
will pay for the good or service with the proceeds of a claim under
the policy and, without the insurer's consent:
(A) pays, waives, absorbs, or otherwise declines
to charge or collect the amount of the insured's deductible;
(B) provides a rebate or credit in connection
with the sale of the good or service that offsets all or part of the
amount paid by the insured as a deductible; or
(C) in any other manner assists the insured in
avoiding monetary payment of the required insurance deductible.
SECTION 2. (a) Section 27.02, Business & Commerce Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or
after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this subsection, an
offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any
element of the offense occurred before that date.
(b) Section 27.02(b), Business & Commerce Code, as amended
by this Act, applies only to a contract entered into on or after the
effective date of this Act. A contract entered into 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.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.