88R6516 CJD-F
	By: Capriglione, Oliverson	H.B. No. 1656

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the payment of deductibles under automobile insurance
	policies.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Sections 27.02(a), (b), and (c), Business &
	Commerce Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Automobile insurance policy" means an insurance
	policy issued by an insurer, including a county mutual insurance
	company, Lloyd's plan, or reciprocal or interinsurance exchange,
	that provides first-party coverage for loss of or damage to an
	automobile.
	(2)  "Property [, "property] insurance policy" has the
	meaning assigned by Section 707.001, Insurance Code.
	(b)  A contract to provide a good or service that is
	reasonably expected to be paid wholly or partly from the proceeds of
	a claim under a property or automobile insurance policy and that has
	a contract price of $1,000 or more must contain the following notice
	in at least 12-point boldfaced type:  "Texas law requires a person
	insured under a property or automobile insurance policy to pay any
	deductible applicable to a claim made under the policy.  It is a
	violation of Texas law for a seller of goods or services who
	reasonably expects to be paid wholly or partly from the proceeds of
	a property or automobile insurance claim to knowingly allow the
	insured person to fail to pay, or assist the insured person's
	failure to pay, the applicable insurance deductible."
	(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 or automobile 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 or automobile 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 or automobile 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.  (a) Section 27.02, Business & Commerce Code, as
	amended by this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or
	after the effective date of this Act.  An offense committed before
	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
	the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued
	in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of this subsection, an
	offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any
	element of the offense occurred before that date.
	(b)  Section 27.02(b), Business & Commerce Code, as amended
	by this Act, applies only to a contract entered into on or after the
	effective date of this Act. A contract entered into 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 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Commerce Code 27.02 (Commerce Code 27)
House Committee Report: Commerce Code 27.02 (Commerce Code 27)