Texas
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) released multiple bulletins in response to Hurricane Harvey, including:
- B-0009-17 – Premium Payments Grace Period, which encourages carriers to provide relief to policyholders in counties affected by the Hurricane. The Bulletin asks carriers to temporarily suspend premium payment requirements to allow continuing insurance coverage. The bulletin does not provide an automatic moratorium for all policyholders in an affected area, so policyholders should reach out to their insurance carriers to receive the benefit of this Bulletin.
- B-0011-17 – Claims Adjusting and Adjusters, reminds carriers that the Texas Insurance Code authorizes carriers to immediately use nonresident and emergency adjusters to handle claims and encourages carriers to use all available means to provide prompt and immediate relief to policyholders.
- B-0015-17 – Property and Casualty Rating and Underwriting, gives the opinion of the TDI that it’s inappropriate for insurers to re-rate, cancel, nonrenew, or refuse to provide coverage due solely to a policyholder’s status as a victim or evacuee of Hurricane Harvey.
- B-0017-17 – Recommending Building and Repair Contractors, reminds all persons, including adjusters, building and repair contractors, and insurers, that an insurer or its rep, or any other person, may not misrepresent the terms and provisions of a policy and that persons insured under a homeowners or dwelling policy are entitled to have their home repairs by the person of their choice.
- B-0018-17 – Denial of Wind Losses, encourages insurers who deny coverage for wind losses to inform policyholders of potential coverage under the TWIA if the loss occurred in the TWIA coverage area.
- B-0019-17 – Vacancy Provisions, urges insurers to provide relief to those residents and policyholders who have been temporarily displaced, including the suspension of any vacancy provisions in the policy to allow continuing insurance coverage. This bulletin is not intended to limit the application of a vacancy provision for policyholders who have moved permanently from their home or business.
The full list of Bulletins can be found at http://www.tdi.texas.gov/bulletins/index.html.