Topic: Insurance

The Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) adopted new administrative rules for reciprocal reinsurers that took effect on January 1, 2022. According to TDI, the goal of the new reinsurance regulations is to “ensure TDI retains its authority to regulate credit for reinsurance matters associated with covered agreements, align TDI’s rules with the current approach to regulate reserve financing arrangements for certain life insurance policies, and align TDI’s rules with updates to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) accreditation requirements.”

Texas Insurance Commissioner Sullivan has announced his resignation following a three-year tenure at the agency.

Kent C. Sullivan, Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) issued Order No. 2020-6384 on July 3, 2020, approving an amended Plan of Operation of the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLSOT).

In the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak, the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has announced that it will not require insurers or HMOs to file a corporate governance annual disclosure this year.

On March 27, 2020, the Texas Supreme Court, in Farmers Texas County Mutual Insurance Company v. Beasley, No. 18-0469, decided ‎whether “an injured plaintiff had standing to bring suit against his personal ‎injury protection (PIP) policy insurer after the insurer paid the incurred ‎medical expenses pursuant to the PIP policy, but the amount the PIP insurer ‎paid was the negotiated rate between the plaintiff’s health care insurer and the ‎medical providers—not the medical providers’ list rate.”

The Texas Department of Insurance has posted a bulletin announcing the extension of selected filing deadlines and a modification of filing requirements for reporting insurers.

In Richards v. State Farm Lloyds, — S.W.3d —, 2020 WL 1313782 (Tex. Mar. 20, 2020), the Texas Supreme Court answered a certified question from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals about the scope of an insurer’s duty to defend its insured against third-party claims. In determining whether an insurer has a duty to defend, Texas generally uses the “eight corners rule,” under which an insurer’s duty to defend is determined by comparing the claims alleged within the four corners of the petition with the coverage provided within the four corners of the policy.