By: Johnson, Perry S.B. No. 1268
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the payment of insurance deductibles for property
insurance claims.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 27.02(c), Business & Commerce Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(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 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 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 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. Section 707.004, Insurance Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 707.004. [REASONABLE PROOF OF] PAYMENT OF DEDUCTIBLE.
(a) An insurer that issues a property insurance policy with
replacement cost coverage shall [may] refuse to pay a claim for
withheld recoverable depreciation or a replacement cost holdback
under the policy until the insurer receives reasonable proof of
payment by the policyholder of any deductible applicable to the
claim. Reasonable proof of payment includes a canceled check,
money order receipt, credit card statement, or copy of an executed
installment plan contract or other financing arrangement that
requires full payment of the deductible over time. This subsection
does not prohibit an insurer from waiving any deductible amount.
(b) An insurer waiving a deductible owed by a policyholder
under a property insurance policy for any reason may not require as
a condition the policyholder's use of the insurer's preferred or
recommended contractor for the claim subject to the deductible.
SECTION 3. Section 707.004, Insurance Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to an insurance policy delivered, issued for
delivery, or renewed on or after the effective date of this Act. A
policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.