TDI has prepared an informal working draft of a rule implementing SB 1367, which eliminated rate and rule filing requirements for numerous commercial lines of insurance. SB 1367 authorizes the commissioner to exempt additional commercial lines, in order to promote enhanced competition or more effectively use TDI resources that might otherwise be used to review filings. TDI staff has prepared draft rule text listing additional commercial lines of property and casualty insurance that would be exempt from the rate and form filing requirements of Insurance Code Chapter 2251, Subchapter C, and Chapter 2301, Subchapter A. If adopted, it will be in a new division and section in Chapter 5, Subchapter F, of Title 28 of the Texas Administrative Code. The draft also includes clarifying language about the scope of some of the exempted lines. The informal draft rule can be found here. 

If you have comments or questions please contact Angie Cervantes.

TDI has issued a data call for 2022 property direct written premium in the Texas catastrophe area that is necessary to supplement TDI's statistical information and to enable TWIA to calculate participation shares for assessments, if required in 2023. The data may also be used in 2024 before data for 2023 is available. 

The data call applies to companies that fall into three categories outlined in the Commissioner's Bulletin #B-0004-23  here.  TDI will email this data call only to companies that fall under those categories and the company must submit the data call form and affidavit to TDI even if the company does not write any applicable business in the Texas catastrophe area.

The commissioner of insurance adopted the repeal of 28 TAC §§5.5001, 5.5002, and 5.5005, regarding Inland Marine Insurance and Multi-peril Insurance. The commissioner also adopted the new Division 1, containing 28 TAC §§5.5001 - 5.5008, and new Division 2, containing §5.5101, regarding Inland Marine Insurance and Multi-peril Insurance.

The adopted rules conform to SB 1367, that passed in 2021, which exempts commercial inland marine insurance from rate and form filing requirements and HB 2587 that passed in 2019, which requires travel insurance rates and forms to be filed as inland marine, subject to an exception allowing travel insurance with sickness, accident, disability, or death coverage to be filed as accident and health insurance. TDI did not receive any comments on this draft prior to adoption. The adopted rules can be read here.

TDI adopts amendments to certain TDI contact information found in Title 28, Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 1. Amendments include changes to TDI's mailing addresses, email addresses, and web addresses.

Mailing address changes are due to TDI moving to the Barbara Jordan State Office Building in the Texas Capitol Complex. The adopted rules require insurers and HMOs to make updates to consumer notices in 2023. TDI issued a bulletin to inform insurers and HMOs of the requirement to update consumer notices under Chapter 1.

Other nonsubstantive changes are included in the adoption order.

View the bulletin for more information on the required updates to consumer notices and the adoption (PDF) for the full text.

For other dates and documents related to this action, visit TDI’s 2022 rules webpage.

In order to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the Texas workers' compensation system DWC issued a mandatory data call with 74 selected insurance carriers on June 2, 2020. After various extensions of the data call, DWC has released its final factsheet with numbers from their COVID-19 data call as of April 2023.  

Some key findings from the latest (and final) factsheet include:

• COVID-19 claims: As of April 30, 2023, insurance carriers reported nearly 100,000 COVID-19 claims and 472 fatalities to DWC. A little more than half of these claims (51%) and fatalities (55%) involve first responders and correctional officers.
• Claims with positive test or diagnosis: More than two-thirds of all COVID-19 claims (72%) involved injured employees who tested positive or were diagnosed with COVID-19.
• COVID-19 claims with benefits: During the COVID-19 pandemic slightly more than one third (34%) of COVID-19 claims filed had medical or indemnity benefit payments associated with them. Most of the benefits paid on COVID-19 claims were indemnity benefits.
• Denials and disputes: Insurance carriers denied less than half (39%) of COVID-19 positive test claims. Despite more than 27,000 denials of COVID-19 claims with positive tests or diagnoses, there were only 258 disputes filed with DWC as of April 30, 2023.
• Claims with post-COVID conditions: Nearly a quarter of claims (23%) that received professional or hospital/facility services received these services beyond one-month post-injury.

See the complete updated fact-sheet here.

TWIA has released their statutorily required annual report highlighting the Association's activities and status over the past year.  This report covers the period from June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023. The 2023 Catastrophe (CAT) Incident Response Plan, required by Section 2210.455, is also included at the end of the Report. The annual report can be read here. 

ICT staff is working on a summary of the report, which will be available on the ICT Member InfoHub later this week.

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What’s still keeping American workers out of the office?

At a time when restaurants, planes and concert arenas are packed to the rafters, office buildings remain half full. Thinly populated cubicles and hallways are straining downtown economies and, bosses say, fragmenting corporate cultures as workers lose a sense of engagement.

Yet workers say high costs, caregiving duties, long commutes and days still scheduled full of Zooms are keeping them at home at least part of the time, along with a lingering sense that they’re able to do their jobs competently from anywhere. More than a dozen workers interviewed by The Wall Street Journal say they can’t envision returning to a five-day office routine, even if they’re missing career development or winding up on the company layoff list.

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A new survey from The Travelers Companies has revealed the top causes of distracted driving.

The 2023 Travelers Risk Index examines the dangerous behaviors that happen on US roadways. While technology continues to be the top cause of distracted driving, other causes include drowsiness, heightened emotions and work-related stress, the study found.

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