CHAPTER 2001. GENERAL PROVISIONS: FIRE INSURANCE AND ALLIED LINES, INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY INSURANCE
INSURANCE CODE
TITLE 10. PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE
SUBTITLE D. FIRE INSURANCE AND ALLIED LINES,
INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY INSURANCE
CHAPTER 2001. GENERAL PROVISIONS: FIRE INSURANCE AND ALLIED
LINES, INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY INSURANCE
Sec. 2001.001. APPLICABILITY OF SUBTITLE. (a) Each insurance
policy or contract insuring property in this state against loss
by fire, including a policy or contract or portion of a policy or
contract that insures the shore end of a marine risk against loss
by fire, must be issued in accordance with:
(1) this chapter;
(2) Section 403.002;
(3) Subchapter C, Chapter 5;
(4) Subchapter H, Chapter 544;
(5) Subchapter D, Chapter 1806; and
(6) Chapters 252, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2171.
(b) An insurer issuing an insurance policy or contract described
by Subsection (a), including a fire insurance company, marine
insurance company, fire and marine insurance company, and fire
and tornado insurance company, is governed by the laws described
by Subsection (a).
(c) This section applies to an insurer or to an insurance policy
or contract regardless of:
(1) the kind and character of property insured;
(2) whether the property is:
(A) fixed or movable;
(B) stationary or in transit; or
(C) consigned or billed for shipment inside or outside the
boundaries of this state or to a foreign country;
(3) whether the insurer is organized:
(A) under the laws of this state, another state, territory, or
possession of the United States, or a foreign country; or
(B) by authority of the federal government; or
(4) the kind of insurer or the name of the insurer issuing the
policy or contract.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.
Sec. 2001.002. RATES. (a) Rates for all lines of insurance
subject to a law described by Section 2001.001(a) are determined
as provided by Chapter 2251 and Article 5.13-2.
(b) The requirement imposed by Subsection (a) does not affect
the requirement for the commissioner to conduct inspections of
commercial property and prescribe a manual of rules and rating
schedules for commercial property under a law described by
Section 2001.001(a).
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.
Sec. 2001.003. AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE SWORN STATEMENTS. For an
insurer described by Section 2001.001, the department may require
from the insurer or a director, officer, representative, or agent
of the insurer a sworn statement covering any period that states:
(1) the rates and premiums collected for fire insurance on each
class of risks and on all property in this state;
(2) the causes of fire, if known to the insurer or individual or
if the insurer or individual possesses relevant information or
data or can obtain the information or data at reasonable expense;
and
(3) all necessary facts and information to allow the department
to determine enforcement and to enforce a law described by
Section 2001.001(a).
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.
Sec. 2001.004. AUTHORITY TO INSPECT AND TAKE TESTIMONY REGARDING
RECORDS. (a) The commissioner or a person authorized by the
commissioner may:
(1) visit:
(A) a general, local, or other office of an insurer engaged in
the business of insurance in this state;
(B) the insurer's home office located outside this state, if
applicable; and
(C) the office of any of the insurer's officers, directors,
agents, or other representatives; and
(2) require the insurer or an officer, director, agent, or other
representative of the insurer to produce for inspection by the
commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative all
of the books, records, and papers of the insurer, officer,
director, agent, or representative.
(b) The commissioner or the commissioner's authorized
representative may:
(1) examine and make or have made copies of the books, records,
and papers described by Subsection (a); and
(2) take testimony under oath regarding the books, records, and
papers and compel the attendance of witnesses for that purpose.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.
Sec. 2001.005. AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE PROVISION OF DATA. The
department may require:
(1) any or all of the fire insurance companies engaged in the
business of insurance in this state to jointly or separately
provide to the department any data the company or companies
possess, including maps, tariffs, inspection reports, and any
data affecting fire insurance risks in this state or any part of
this state; and
(2) any two or more of those companies or any joint agents or
representatives of the companies to provide to the department for
use in implementing a law described by Section 2001.001(a) any
data the companies, agents, or representatives possess.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.
Sec. 2001.006. REPORT OF INFORMATION RELATING TO CERTAIN FIRE
LOSSES. (a) The state fire marshal, a fire marshal of a
political subdivision of this state, the chief of a fire
department in this state, or a peace officer in this state may
request an insurer investigating a fire loss of property in which
damages or losses exceed $1,000 to release information in the
insurer's possession relating to that loss. The insurer shall
release the requested information and cooperate with the
official. The requested information may include only:
(1) an insurance policy relevant to the fire loss under
investigation and any application for a policy;
(2) policy premium payment records;
(3) the history of the insured's previous claims for fire loss;
and
(4) material relating to the investigation of the loss,
including:
(A) statements of any person;
(B) proof of loss; or
(C) other relevant evidence.
(b) This section does not authorize a public official or agency
to adopt or require any type of periodic report by an insurer.
(c) An insurer that has reason to suspect that a fire loss to
the property of a person insured by the insurer was caused by
incendiary means and that receives a request for information
under Subsection (a) shall:
(1) notify the requesting official and provide the official with
all relevant material acquired during the insurer's investigation
of the fire loss;
(2) cooperate with and take any action requested of the insurer
by a law enforcement agency; and
(3) permit a person ordered by a court to inspect any of the
insurer's records relating to the insurance policy and the loss.
(d) In the absence of fraud or malice, an insurer or a person
who provided information on the insurer's behalf is not liable
for damages in a civil action or subject to criminal prosecution
for an oral or written statement made or any other action taken
that is necessary to supply information required under this
section.
(e) An official or a department or agency employee who receives
information under this section shall maintain the confidentiality
of the information until the information is required to be
released in a criminal or civil proceeding.
(f) An official described by Subsection (a) may be required to
testify as to any information in the official's possession
regarding the fire loss of property in a civil action in which a
person seeks recovery for the loss from an insurer under an
insurance policy.
(g) A person may not intentionally:
(1) refuse to release information requested under Subsection
(a);
(2) refuse to notify the fire marshal of a fire loss required to
be reported under Subsection (c);
(3) refuse to provide the fire marshal with relevant information
required to be provided under Subsection (c); or
(4) fail to maintain the confidentiality of information that is
confidential under Subsection (e).
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.
Sec. 2001.007. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) An officer or director of
a fire insurance company described by Section 2001.001, or an
agent or person acting on behalf of or employed by a fire
insurance company described by Section 2001.001, commits an
offense if the officer, director, agent, or person intentionally:
(1) performs or causes to be performed, alone or in conjunction
with a corporation, company, or person, an act prohibited by a
law described by Section 2001.001(a);
(2) fails to perform an act required to be performed by a law
described by Section 2001.001(a);
(3) permits an act prohibited by a law described by Section
2001.001(a); or
(4) otherwise violates a law described by Section 2001.001(a).
(b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by
a fine of not less than $300 or more than $1,000.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.
Sec. 2001.008. IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION. (a) A person is not
excused from giving testimony or producing evidence when legally
required at the trial of another person charged with violating a
law relating to fire insurance on the ground that the testimony
or evidence may incriminate the person under the laws of this
state.
(b) A person may not be prosecuted or subjected to a penalty or
forfeiture for or because of a transaction, matter, or thing
about which the person testifies or produces evidence under this
section.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.
Sec. 2001.009. LIMITATION ON COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES. The
total amount of necessary compensation for experts, clerical
personnel, and other department employees and necessary expenses,
including travel expenses, incurred by the department in
implementing the laws described by Section 2001.001(a) may not
exceed the amount of the assessments on the gross premiums of all
fire insurance companies engaged in the business of insurance in
this state.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.
Sec. 2001.010. PUBLIC GUIDE RELATING TO COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
RATING. (a) In this section, "rating agency" means a public or
private legal entity that is authorized to conduct commercial
property rating in this state.
(b) The commissioner shall make available to the public a
generalized guide that:
(1) summarizes the procedures used by the department or other
rating agency to rate nonresidential commercial buildings in this
state; and
(2) specifies how different construction elements and techniques
used in a building project affect the insurance rating of the
completed building.
(c) The commissioner may charge a reasonable fee to cover the
administrative costs of producing and distributing the guide.
(d) The commissioner shall review the information in the guide
in January of each odd-numbered year and shall revise the guide
as necessary to incorporate any changes that have occurred in the
preceding biennium that affect the information.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
727, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2007.