By: Martinez Fischer H.B. No. 5519
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to rates for residential property insurance and personal
automobile insurance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2251.003, Insurance Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Section 2251.0031, this
subchapter and Subchapters B, C, and D apply to all lines of the
following kinds of insurance written under an insurance policy or
contract issued by an insurer authorized to engage in the business
of insurance in this state:
(1) general liability insurance;
(2) [residential and] commercial property insurance,
including farm and ranch insurance and farm and ranch owners
insurance;
(3) personal and commercial casualty insurance,
except as provided by Section 2251.004;
(4) medical professional liability insurance;
(5) fidelity, guaranty, and surety bonds other than
criminal court appearance bonds;
(6) personal umbrella insurance;
(7) personal liability insurance;
(8) guaranteed auto protection (GAP) insurance;
(9) involuntary unemployment insurance;
(10) financial guaranty insurance;
(11) inland marine insurance;
(12) rain insurance;
(13) hail insurance on farm crops;
(14) [personal and] commercial automobile insurance;
(15) multi-peril insurance; and
(16) identity theft insurance issued under Chapter
706.
(d) This subchapter and Subchapters B and C-1 apply to all
lines of residential property insurance and personal automobile
insurance written under an insurance policy or contract issued by
an insurer authorized to engage in the business of insurance in this
state, including a Lloyd's plan, reciprocal or interinsurance
exchange, or county mutual insurance company.
SECTION 2. Chapter 2251, Insurance Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter C-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C-1. PRIOR APPROVAL FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY AND
PERSONAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE
Sec. 2251.131. RATE FILINGS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION; USE
OF FILED RATE. (a) For residential property and personal
automobile insurance policies written in this state, each insurer
shall file with the department all rates, applicable rating
manuals, supplementary rating information, and additional
information as required by the commissioner, if the insurer's rate
increased or decreased by more than 5% from the insurer's
previously filed rate that is in effect on the date of the filing.
(b) Rules adopted by the commissioner under Section
2251.101(b) apply with respect to rate filing under this section.
(c) From the date of the filing of the rate with the
department to the effective date of the new rate, the insurer's
previously filed rate that is in effect on the date of the filing
remains in effect.
(d) For purposes of this section, a rate is filed with the
department on the date the department receives the rate filing.
Sec. 2251.133. COMMISSIONER APPROVAL OF RATE INCREASE OR
DECREASE. (a) Not later than the 90th day after the date a rate is
filed with the department under Section 2251.131, the commissioner
shall approve or disapprove the rate after determining whether the
rate complies with the requirements of this subchapter.
(b) The commissioner may approve a rate that increased or
decreased by more than 5% from the insurer's previously filed rate
under Section 2251.131 only if:
(1) the commissioner finds the resulting premiums will
be just, adequate, reasonable, not excessive, and not unfairly
discriminatory, taking into consideration:
(A) the financial condition of the insurer;
(B) the method of operation and expenses of the
insurer;
(C) the actual paid and incurred loss experience
of the insurer;
(D) earnings of the insurer from investments
together with a projection of prospective earnings from investments
during the period for which the rates will be in effect; and
(E) the composite effect of the factors described
by Paragraphs (B), (C), and (D); and
(2) the application meets the conditions,
limitations, and restrictions considered necessary by the
commissioner.
(c) For good cause, the commissioner may, on the expiration
of the 90-day period described by Subsection (a), extend the period
for approval or disapproval of a rate for one additional 90-day
period. The commissioner and the insurer may not by agreement
extend the 90-day period described by Subsection (a) or this
subsection.
(d) If the commissioner disapproves a rate under this
section, the commissioner shall issue an order specifying in what
respects the rate fails to meet the requirements of this chapter.
(e) An insurer that files a rate that is disapproved under
this section is entitled to a hearing on written request made to the
commissioner not later than the 30th day after the date the order
disapproving the rate takes effect.
(f) The department shall track, compile, and routinely
analyze the factors that contribute to the disapproval of rates
under this section.
Sec. 2251.134. AMENDMENT, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION OF
APPROVED RATE. (a) An insurer whose rate is approved under Section
2251.133 may:
(1) apply for an amendment to the rate; or
(2) by notice to the commissioner withdraw the rate.
(b) The commissioner may, after notice and a hearing:
(1) suspend or revoke approval for a rate considered
approved under Section 2251.133(b) if the commissioner determines
that the rate filing:
(A) contains false or erroneous information; or
(B) does not meet the requirements of this
subchapter; or
(2) suspend or revoke approval for a rate approved if
the commissioner determines after examination or otherwise that:
(A) the insurer has had a change in the insurer's
financial condition since the application was approved;
(B) the actual paid and incurred losses of the
insurer have materially changed since the application was approved;
(C) there has been a material increase in
expenses of the insurer since the application was approved;
(D) there has been a material reduction in
earning from investments by the insurer since the application was
approved; or
(E) the insurer has failed or refused to provide
information required by the commissioner.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
rates for an insurance policy that is delivered, issued for
delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026. Rates for an
insurance policy that is delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed
before January 1, 2026, are 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, 2025.