1-1     By:  Burnam (Senate Sponsor - Shapleigh)               H.B. No. 186
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House March 28, 2001;
 1-3     March 29, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Business and Commerce; May 3, 2001, reported favorably by the
 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 3, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to certain insurance investigations regarding burglary or
 1-9     robbery losses or death claims.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subchapter E, Chapter 21, Insurance Code, is
1-12     amended by adding Article 21.49C to read as follows:
1-13           Art. 21.49C.  REPORT OF CLAIMS INFORMATION ABOUT BURGLARY,
1-14     ROBBERY, OR DEATH. (a)  Subject to Subsection (b), the state fire
1-15     marshal, the fire marshal of a political subdivision in this state,
1-16     the chief of a fire department in this state, a chief of police of
1-17     a municipality in this state, or a sheriff in this state may, in
1-18     the course of a criminal investigation, request in writing that an
1-19     insurance company investigating a claimed burglary or robbery loss
1-20     or a death claim seeking life insurance proceeds release
1-21     information in the company's possession that relates to that
1-22     claimed loss.  The company shall release the information to any
1-23     official authorized to request the information under this article
1-24     if the company has reason to believe that the insurance claim is
1-25     false or fraudulent.
1-26           (b)  An official who requests information under this article
1-27     may not request anything other than:
1-28                 (1)  an insurance policy relevant to an insurance claim
1-29     under investigation and the application for that policy;
1-30                 (2)  policy premium payment records;
1-31                 (3)  the history of previous claims made by the
1-32     insured; and
1-33                 (4)  material relating to the investigation of the
1-34     insurance claim, including statements of any person, proof of loss,
1-35     or other relevant evidence.
1-36           (c)  This article does not authorize a public official or
1-37     agency to adopt or require any form of periodic report by an
1-38     insurance company.
1-39           (d)  In the absence of fraud or malice, an insurance company
1-40     or a person who releases information on behalf of an insurance
1-41     company is not liable for damages in a civil action or subject to
1-42     criminal prosecution for an oral or written statement made, or any
1-43     other action taken, that relates to the information required to be
1-44     released under this article.
1-45           (e)  The officials and department personnel receiving
1-46     information under this article shall maintain the information in
1-47     confidence until the release of the information is required during
1-48     a criminal or civil proceeding.
1-49           (f)  An insurance company or the company's representative may
1-50     not intentionally refuse to release to an official described by
1-51     Subsection (a) of this article the information required to be
1-52     released to that official under this article.
1-53           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
1-54     applies only to a claim for a burglary or robbery loss or a death
1-55     claim seeking life insurance proceeds that is filed with an
1-56     insurance company on or after that date.
1-57                                  * * * * *