Bill Text: TX HB2374 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to prohibiting oral releases for automobile insurance claims.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-03 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB2374 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB2374-Comm_Sub.html
| 86R29699 SCL-F | |||
| By: J. Johnson of Dallas | H.B. No. 2374 | ||
| Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2374: | |||
| By: Lucio III | C.S.H.B. No. 2374 | ||
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| relating to prohibiting oral releases for automobile insurance | ||
| claims. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 10, Insurance Code, is amended | ||
| by adding Chapter 1955 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 1955. ORAL RELEASES FOR AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CLAIMS | ||
| Sec. 1955.0001. PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to | ||
| protect those injured by motorists from predatory practices engaged | ||
| in by personal and commercial automobile insurers that seek to | ||
| induce injured motorists into settling and releasing their legal | ||
| claims for an amount that is insufficient to compensate their | ||
| losses at a time when these losses are not known with any certainty, | ||
| resulting in costs both to the injured person and medical providers | ||
| whose care and services may go uncompensated as a result of those | ||
| predatory insurance practices. | ||
| Sec. 1955.0002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Claimant" means an individual who has a claim for | ||
| an injury against another individual or an entity. | ||
| (2) "Injury" means a bodily or psychological injury. | ||
| (3) "Oral release" means an oral contract under which | ||
| a claimant releases, wholly or partly, one or more of the claimant's | ||
| claims arising out of an injury for which an insurer may be liable | ||
| under an automobile insurance policy in exchange for money or other | ||
| consideration paid. | ||
| Sec. 1955.0003. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter | ||
| applies to an insurer writing personal or commercial automobile | ||
| insurance in this state, including an insurance company, | ||
| corporation, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, mutual | ||
| insurance company, county mutual insurance company, association, | ||
| Lloyd's plan, or other insurer. | ||
| Sec. 1955.0004. ORAL RELEASE OF CLAIMS PROHIBITED. A | ||
| claimant and an insurer or another individual or entity may not | ||
| enter into an oral release. A release made in exchange for money or | ||
| other consideration paid for the claimant's claim arising out of an | ||
| injury for which an insurer may be liable under an automobile | ||
| insurance policy is not enforceable unless the contract is in | ||
| writing. | ||
| SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to | ||
| a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2020. A contract | ||
| entered into before January 1, 2020, is governed by the law as it | ||
| existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that | ||
| law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
