Title IN, Insurance Code

Sec. 501.005. ACCESS TO PROGRAMS AND FACILITIES. (a) The office shall prepare and maintain a written plan that describes how a person who does not speak English can be provided reasonable access to the office's programs. (b) The office shall comply with federal and state laws for…

Sec. 501.051. APPOINTMENT; TERM. (a) The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint a public counsel to serve as the executive director of the office. The public counsel serves a two-year term that expires on February 1 of each odd-numbered year. (b) The g…

Sec. 501.052. QUALIFICATIONS. To be eligible to serve as public counsel, a person must: (1) be licensed to practice law in this state; (2) have demonstrated a strong commitment to and involvement in efforts to safeguard the rights of the public; and (3) possess the knowledge and …

Sec. 501.053. BUSINESS INTEREST; SERVICE AS PUBLIC COUNSEL. A person is not eligible for appointment as public counsel if the person or the person's spouse: (1) is employed by or participates in the management of a business entity or other organization regulated by or receiving f…

Sec. 501.054. LOBBYING ACTIVITIES. A person may not serve as public counsel or act as general counsel to the office if the person is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305, Government Code, because of the person's activities for compensation related to the operation…

Sec. 501.055. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL. (a) It is a ground for removal from office if the public counsel: (1) does not have at the time of appointment or maintain during service as public counsel the qualifications required by Section 501.052; (2) violates a prohibition established by…

Sec. 501.056. PROHIBITED REPRESENTATION OR EMPLOYMENT. A former public counsel may not represent any person or receive compensation for services rendered on behalf of any person regarding a case pending before the commissioner or department before the second anniversary of the da…

Sec. 501.101. OFFICE PERSONNEL. (a) The public counsel shall employ professional, technical, and other employees necessary to implement this chapter. (b) Compensation for an employee shall be set under the General Appropriations Act as provided by the legislature. Added by Acts 2…

Sec. 501.102. TRADE ASSOCIATIONS. (a) In this section, "trade association" means a nonprofit, cooperative, and voluntarily joined association of business or professional competitors designed to assist its members and its industry or profession in dealing with mutual business or p…

Sec. 501.103. CAREER LADDER PROGRAM; PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS. (a) The public counsel or the public counsel's designee shall develop an intra-agency career ladder program. The program must require intra-agency posting of all nonentry level positions concurrently with any public po…

Sec. 501.104. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY POLICY; REPORT. (a) The public counsel or the public counsel's designee shall prepare and maintain a written policy statement to ensure implementation of an equal employment opportunity program under which all personnel transactions are …

Sec. 501.105. QUALIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS OF CONDUCT. The office shall provide to the public counsel and office employees, as often as necessary, information regarding their: (1) qualifications for office or employment under this chapter; and (2) responsibilities under applicabl…

Sec. 501.151. POWERS AND DUTIES OF OFFICE. The office: (1) may assess the impact of insurance rates, rules, and forms on insurance consumers in this state; and (2) shall advocate in the office's own name positions determined by the public counsel to be most advantageous to a subs…

Sec. 501.152. ADMINISTRATION OF OFFICE. The public counsel shall administer and enforce this chapter, including preparing and submitting to the legislature a budget for the office and approving expenditures for professional services, travel, per diem, and other actual and necessa…

Sec. 501.153. AUTHORITY TO APPEAR, INTERVENE, OR INITIATE. The public counsel: (1) may appear or intervene, as a party or otherwise, as a matter of right before the commissioner or department on behalf of insurance consumers, as a class, in matters involving: (A) rates, rules, an…

Sec. 501.154. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. The public counsel: (1) is entitled to the same access as a party, other than department staff, to department records available in a proceeding before the commissioner or department under the authority granted to the public counsel by this cha…

Sec. 501.155. RECOMMENDATION OF LEGISLATION. The public counsel may recommend legislation to the legislature that the public counsel determines would positively affect the interests of insurance consumers. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1274, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2005.

Sec. 501.156. CONSUMER BILL OF RIGHTS. The public counsel shall submit to the department for adoption a consumer bill of rights appropriate to each personal line of insurance regulated by the department to be distributed on issuance of a policy by an insurer to each policyholder …

Sec. 501.157. PROHIBITED INTERVENTIONS OR APPEARANCES. The public counsel may not intervene or appear in: (1) any proceeding or hearing before the commissioner or department, or any other proceeding, that relates to approval or consideration of an individual charter, license, cer…

Sec. 501.158. CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS. Confidentiality requirements applicable to examination reports under Sections 401.105 and 401.106 and to the commissioner under Section 441.201 apply to the public counsel. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1274, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, …

Sec. 501.159. COMMENTS ON CERTAIN INSURER FILINGS. (a) Notwithstanding this chapter, the office may submit written comments to the commissioner and otherwise participate regarding individual insurer filings made under Chapters 2251 and 2301 relating to insurance described by Subc…

Sec. 501.160. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURES. (a) The office shall develop and implement a policy to encourage the use of appropriate alternative dispute resolution procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to assist in the resolution of internal and external dis…

Sec. 501.201. OFFICE EXPENSES. Expenses of the office shall be paid from the assessments collected under this subchapter. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1274, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2005.

Sec. 501.202. ASSESSMENT. To defray the costs of operating the office, the comptroller shall collect assessments under this subchapter annually in connection with the collection of other taxes imposed on an insurer. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1274, Sec. 2, eff. April 1, 2…

Sec. 501.203. ASSESSMENT ON PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURERS. Each property and casualty insurer authorized to engage in business in this state shall pay an annual assessment of 5.7 cents for each property and casualty insurance policy in force in this state at the end of the year.…

Sec. 501.204. ASSESSMENT ON LIFE, HEALTH, AND ACCIDENT INSURERS AND RELATED ENTITIES. (a) This section applies to each insurer authorized to engage in business in this state under: (1) Chapter 841; (2) Chapter 842; (3) Section 1367.053, Subchapter A, Chapter 1452, Subchapter B, C…

Sec. 501.205. ASSESSMENT ON TITLE INSURANCE COMPANIES. Each title insurance company authorized to engage in business in this state shall pay an annual assessment of 5.7 cents for each owner and mortgage policy that is written for delivery in this state during each calendar year a…

Sec. 501.251. COMPARISON OF HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS. (a) The office shall develop and implement a system to compare and evaluate, on an objective basis, the quality of care provided by and the performance of health maintenance organizations established under Chapter 843.…

Sec. 501.252. ANNUAL CONSUMER REPORT CARDS. (a) The office shall develop and issue annual consumer report cards that identify and compare, on an objective basis, health maintenance organizations in this state. The consumer report cards may be based on information or data from any…

Sec. 501.253. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. (a) The office is entitled to information that is confidential under a law of this state, including Section 843.006 of this code, Chapter 108, Health and Safety Code, and Chapter 552, Government Code. (b) The department and the Texas Health Ca…

Sec. 501.254. CONFIDENTIALITY AND USE OF INFORMATION. (a) Except as provided by this section, information collected under this subchapter is subject to Chapter 552, Government Code, and the office shall make determinations on requests for information in favor of access. (b) The o…