80C79(2) PEP

 

SECTION ____.  CONFORMING AMENDMENT.  Section 542.103(a), Insurance Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a)  An insurer shall provide the information requested under Section 542.101 or 542.102 [this subchapter] in writing not later than the 30th day after the date the insurer receives the request for the information.

SECTION ____.  CONFORMING AMENDMENT.  Section 542.104, Insurance Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 542.104.  RULES.  The commissioner may by rule prescribe forms for requesting information and for providing requested information under Section 542.101 or 542.102 [this subchapter].

SECTION ____.  CONFORMING AMENDMENT.  Subchapter C, Chapter 542, Insurance Code, is amended by adding Section 542.105 to read as follows:

Sec. 542.105.  REQUEST BY CERTAIN OFFICIALS ENGAGED IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.  (a)  This section applies only to a claim for a burglary or robbery loss or a death claim seeking life insurance proceeds that is filed with an insurance company on or after September 1, 2001.

(b)  In the course of a criminal investigation and subject to Subsection (c), the state fire marshal, the fire marshal of a political subdivision of this state, the chief of a fire department in this state, a chief of police of a municipality in this state, or a sheriff in this state may request in writing that an insurance company investigating a claimed burglary or robbery loss or a death claim seeking life insurance proceeds release information in the company's possession that relates to that claimed loss.  The company shall release the information to any official authorized to request the information under this subsection if the company has reason to believe that the insurance claim is false or fraudulent.

(c)  An official who requests information under this section may not request anything other than:

(1)  an insurance policy relevant to an insurance claim under investigation and the application for that policy;

(2)  policy premium payment records;

(3)  the history of the insured's previous claims; and

(4)  material relating to the investigation of the insurance claim, including:

(A)  statements of any person;

(B)  proof of loss; or

(C)  other relevant evidence.

(d)  This section does not authorize a public official or agency to adopt or require any form of periodic report by an insurance company.

(e)  In the absence of fraud or malice, an insurance company or a person who releases information on behalf of an insurance company is not liable for damages in a civil action or subject to criminal prosecution for an oral or written statement made, or any other action taken, that relates to the information required to be released under this section.

(f)  An official or department employee receiving information under this section shall maintain the confidentiality of the information until the information is required to be released during a criminal or civil proceeding.

(g)  An insurance company or the company's representative may not intentionally refuse to release to an official described by Subsection (b) the information required to be released to that official under this section.  (V.T.I.C. Art. 21.49C.)

Source Law

Art. 21.49C.  (a)  Subject to Subsection (b), the state fire marshal, the fire marshal of a political subdivision in this state, the chief of a fire department in this state, a chief of police of a municipality in this state, or a sheriff in this state may, in the course of a criminal investigation, request in writing that an insurance company investigating a claimed burglary or robbery loss or a death claim seeking life insurance proceeds release information in the company's possession that relates to that claimed loss.  The company shall release the information to any official authorized to request the information under this article if the company has reason to believe that the insurance claim is false or fraudulent.

(b)  An official who requests information under this article may not request anything other than:

(1)  an insurance policy relevant to an insurance claim under investigation and the application for that policy;

(2)  policy premium payment records;

(3)  the history of previous claims made by the insured; and

(4)  material relating to the investigation of the insurance claim, including statements of any person, proof of loss, or other relevant evidence.

(c)  This article does not authorize a public official or agency to adopt or require any form of periodic report by an insurance company.

(d)  In the absence of fraud or malice, an insurance company or a person who releases information on behalf of an insurance company is not liable for damages in a civil action or subject to criminal prosecution for an oral or written statement made, or any other action taken, that relates to the information required to be released under this article.

(e)  The officials and department personnel receiving information under this article shall maintain the information in confidence until the release of the information is required during a criminal or civil proceeding.

(f)  An insurance company or the company's representative may not intentionally refuse to release to an official described by Subsection (a) of this article the information required to be released to that official under this article.

Revisor's Note

V.T.I.C. Article 21.49C was adopted by Chapter 288, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001.  Section 2 of that act states that the act takes effect on September 1, 2001, and applies only to a claim for a burglary or robbery loss or a death claim seeking life insurance proceeds that is filed with an insurance company on or after that date.  The revised law therefore states that Section 542.105, Insurance Code, "applies only to a claim for a burglary or robbery loss or a death claim seeking life insurance proceeds that is filed with an insurance company on or after September 1, 2001."