By: Bivins S.B. No. 490
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to premium discounts by certain insurance companies for
1-2 persons installing home security devices.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 1, Article 5.33A, Insurance Code, is
1-5 amended by adding Subdivisions (4) and (5) to read as follows:
1-6 (4) "U.L." means Underwriters Laboratories.
1-7 (5) "Siren" includes a horn, bell, whistle, or other
1-8 device, located inside or outside of a burglar alarm system control
1-9 box, that is designed to emit a loud noise when activated.
1-10 SECTION 2. Section 2, Article 5.33A, Insurance Code, is
1-11 amended to read as follows:
1-12 Sec. 2. Qualification for Premium Reduction. A person is
1-13 entitled to a premium reduction for homeowners insurance coverage
1-14 under this article if:
1-15 (1) that person's property <person> is found by an
1-16 inspector to be in compliance with the specifications under <in>
1-17 Section 6 of this article; or
1-18 (2) that person possesses a certificate of
1-19 installation issued by the installer of the electronic burglar
1-20 alarm stating that at the time of installation the system complied
1-21 with the requirements of Section 6(a)(2) of this article and the
1-22 person furnishes the certificate to the insurer.
1-23 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 3, Article 5.33A,
1-24 Insurance Code, is amended to read as follows:
2-1 (a) A person who desires a premium reduction on homeowners
2-2 insurance under Section 2(1) of this article shall apply to the
2-3 city or, if the person lives in an unincorporated area, to the
2-4 county in which the person's home is located for a premium
2-5 reduction certification inspection. Application for the inspection
2-6 shall be made in writing and in the form required by the
2-7 commission.
2-8 SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 4, Article 5.33A,
2-9 Insurance Code, is amended to read as follows:
2-10 (a) If the inspector's report provided as part of the
2-11 inspection under Section 2(1) of this article states that the
2-12 applicant's property qualifies for a premium reduction, the board
2-13 shall issue to the applicant a premium reduction certificate
2-14 entitling him or her to a premium reduction on the homeowners
2-15 insurance.
2-16 SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 6, Article 5.33A,
2-17 Insurance Code, is amended to read as follows:
2-18 (a) A person's property qualifies for a homeowners insurance
2-19 premium reduction if the property:
2-20 (1) meets the following minimum specifications:
2-21 (A) exterior doors must be solid core doors that
2-22 are 1-3/8 inches thick and must be secured by dead-bolt locks;
2-23 (B) metal doors must be secured by dead-bolt
2-24 locks;
2-25 (C) double doors must meet the specifications
2-26 provided by Subdivision (1) of this subsection, must have the
2-27 inactive door secured by header and threshold bolts that penetrate
3-1 metal strike plates, and in the case of glass located within 40
3-2 inches of header and threshold bolts, must have the bolts
3-3 flush-mounted in the edge of the door;
3-4 (D) sliding glass doors must be secured by
3-5 secondary locking devices to prevent lifting and prying;
3-6 (E) dutch doors must have concealed flush-bolt
3-7 locking devices to interlock upper and lower halves and must be
3-8 secured by a dead-bolt lock;
3-9 (F) garage doors must be equipped with
3-10 key-operated locking devices; and
3-11 (G) windows must be secured by auxiliary locking
3-12 devices; or
3-13 (2) is equipped with an electronic burglar alarm that
3-14 meets the following requirements:
3-15 (A) all exterior entry doors, including a door
3-16 from the garage to the interior of the house and all hatches for
3-17 the attic and basement, <structure openings> are protected by
3-18 magnetic contacts except that magnetic contacts are not required on
3-19 the garage door <contacted>;
3-20 (B) all exterior windows are protected by one of
3-21 the following:
3-22 (i) magnetic contacts;
3-23 (ii) an alarm screen; or
3-24 (iii) a motion detector;
3-25 (C) the system includes a siren audible inside
3-26 the house <an interior> and, except where prohibited under an
3-27 ordinance or other law finally adopted by the governing body of a
4-1 local government, a <exterior> siren audible outside of the house;
4-2 (D) <(C)> all equipment, except for sirens, is
4-3 U.L. or Factory Mutual Research Corporation (FM) listed, <approved>
4-4 and the burglar alarm system is monitored by a U.L. listed
4-5 <approved> central station;
4-6 (E) the system includes a backup battery; and
4-7 (F) all equipment <(D)> sales, service,
4-8 installation, and monitoring of the system are <done> in compliance
4-9 with the Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act
4-10 (Article 4413(29bb), Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
4-11 SECTION 6. Section 7, Article 5.33A, Insurance Code, is
4-12 amended to read as follows:
4-13 Sec. 7. Duties of the Commission. The commission shall
4-14 establish standards for the inspection program under Section 2(1)
4-15 of this article, shall adopt rules to carry out the inspection
4-16 program, and shall certify inspectors who do the inspections,
4-17 except such certificate shall be limited to the specification set
4-18 forth in Section 6 hereof for which the inspector has received
4-19 instruction under Section 8(b)(3) hereof.
4-20 SECTION 7. Subsection (a), Section 8, Article 5.33A,
4-21 Insurance Code, is amended to read as follows:
4-22 (a) Before a person may conduct an inspection required under
4-23 Section 2(1) of this article <act as an inspector>, that person
4-24 must apply for and receive certification from the commission and
4-25 must meet the qualifications stated in Subsection (b) of this
4-26 section.
4-27 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
5-1 applies only to an insurance policy that is delivered, issued for
5-2 delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 1996. A policy that is
5-3 delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed before January 1, 1996,
5-4 is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
5-5 effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
5-6 that purpose.
5-7 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
5-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.