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SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title
10, Insurance Code, is amended by adding Chapter 1808 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 1808. CLAIMS
SETTLEMENT AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION FOR PROPERTY LOSS CLAIMS
Sec. 1808.001.
DEFINITION.
Sec. 1808.002.
APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this
chapter applies to a claim under an insurance policy that provides
insurance coverage against damage to or loss of real property or tangible
personal property, including a policy issued by an insurance company,
reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, mutual insurance company, capital
stock insurance company, county mutual insurance company, Lloyd's plan, or
other legal entity authorized to write property insurance in this state.
(b) This chapter does not
apply to a claim under a policy issued by:
(1) the Texas Windstorm
Insurance Association;
(2) the FAIR Plan
Association; or
(3) the Texas Automobile
Insurance Plan Association.
Sec. 1808.003. DISPUTE
CONCERNING THE AMOUNT OF ACCEPTED COVERAGE: APPRAISAL REQUIRED. (a) If an
insurer accepts coverage for a property loss claim in full and the insured
disputes only the amount of loss the insurer will pay for the claim, or if
the insurer accepts coverage for a property loss claim in part and the
insured disputes the amount of loss the insurer will pay for the accepted
portion of the claim, the insured may request from the insurer a detailed
summary of the manner in which the insurer determined the amount of loss
the insurer will pay.
(b) If an insured
disputes the amount of loss the insurer will pay for a property loss claim
or a portion of a property loss claim, the insured must, before the insured
brings an action to resolve the dispute, demand appraisal in accordance
with rules adopted by the commissioner for purposes of this section. A
demand under this subsection tolls the applicable limitations period for
filing the action until the 60th day after the date on which the appraisal
decision is made.
(c) If an insurer demands
appraisal under this section:
(1) the appraisal must be
conducted as provided by the commissioner by rule; and
(2) the insured and the
insurer are responsible in equal shares for paying any costs incurred or
charged in connection with the appraisal, including a fee charged under
Subsection (d).
(d) If an insured demands
appraisal under this section and the appraiser retained by the insured and
the appraiser retained by the insurer are able to agree on an appraisal
umpire to participate in the resolution of the dispute, the appraisal
umpire is the umpire chosen by the two appraisers. If the appraiser
retained by the insured and the appraiser retained by the insurer are
unable to agree on an appraisal umpire to participate in the resolution of
the dispute, the commissioner shall select an appraisal umpire from a
roster of qualified umpires maintained by the department. The department
may:
(1) require appraisers to
register with the department as a condition of being placed on the roster
of umpires; and
(2) charge a reasonable
registration fee to defray the cost incurred by the department in
maintaining the roster and the commissioner in selecting an appraisal
umpire under this subsection.
Sec. 1808.004. DISPUTE
CONCERNING THE AMOUNT OF ACCEPTED COVERAGE: ATTORNEY'S FEES. An insured
that brings an action to resolve a dispute
for which an appraisal is required under Section 1808.003 may not
recover attorney's fees in an amount that is greater than 40 percent of the
amount by which the property loss awarded by
the judgment exceeds the property loss awarded by the appraisal decision.
Sec. 1808.005. JUDGMENT
INTEREST.
Notwithstanding Section 542.060, interest awarded to an
insured under that section in connection with a claim for property losses
must be computed using the postjudgment interest rate determined under
Section 304.003, Finance Code.
Sec. 1808.006.
EXCLUSIVITY OF REMEDIES FOR PROPERTY LOSS CLAIM. Notwithstanding Section
541.453 or 542.061 or any other law, an insured may not bring an action in
connection with a claim for property losses to obtain a remedy provided by
any statute other than this code.
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SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title
10, Insurance Code, is amended by adding Chapter 1808 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 1808. CLAIMS FOR
PROPERTY LOSSES
Sec. 1808.001.
DEFINITION.
Sec. 1808.002. APPLICABILITY
OF CHAPTER. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this chapter applies
to any claim under or related to an
insurance policy that provides insurance coverage against damage to or loss
of real property or tangible personal property, including a policy issued
by an insurance company, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, mutual
insurance company, capital stock insurance company, county mutual insurance
company, Lloyd's plan, or other legal entity authorized to write property
insurance in this state.
(b) This chapter does not
apply to a claim under a policy issued by:
(1) the Texas Windstorm
Insurance Association;
(2) the FAIR Plan
Association; or
(3) the Texas Automobile
Insurance Plan Association.
No
equivalent provision.
Sec. 1808.003. ATTORNEY'S
FEES. An insured that brings an action against
an insurer pertaining to a claim for property losses may not recover
attorney's fees in an amount that is greater than 40 percent of the amount
by which the property loss determined to be
owed under the policy exceeds any amount of loss the insurer has already
paid for the claim.
Sec. 1808.004. LIABILITY
FOR VIOLATION OF SUBCHAPTER B, CHAPTER 542.
Interest awarded to an
insured under Section 542.060 in connection with a claim for property
losses must be computed using the postjudgment interest rate determined
under Section 304.003, Finance Code, and is
limited to that amount.
No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 2. Chapter 1808,
Insurance Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a claim under an
insurance policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after
January 1, 2014. A claim under an insurance policy delivered, issued for
delivery, or renewed before January 1, 2014, is governed by the law
applicable to the claim immediately before the effective date of this Act,
and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
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SECTION 2. Chapter 1808,
Insurance Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a claim under or related to an insurance policy delivered,
issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 2014. A claim under
or related to an insurance policy
delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed before January 1, 2014, is
governed by the law applicable to the claim immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
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