Early Bills Filed for 2019 in Texas Include Insurance-Related Measures

Lawmakers have begun filing bills in the Texas Legislature for the legislative session that begins in January 2019. Among the bills filed so far that relate to property/casualty insurance include:

HB 259: Relating to named driver insurance policies and certain related exclusions. It would prohibit named driver policies, unless the named driver policy is an operator’s policy. A named driver exclusion would be allowed only if the exclusion specifically names each excluded driver, the driver(s) accepts the exclusion in writing and the policy does not exclude a class of drivers.

HB 283: Relating to a disclosure regarding flood coverage under a commercial or residential property insurance policy. It would require all insurers that issue commercial or residential policies that don’t provide coverage for flood losses to include the following statement on top of the policy’s declaration page: “WARNING: THIS POLICY DOES NOT PROVIDE COVERAGE AGAINST LOSS CAUSED BY FLOODING.”

SB 163: Relating to required provision of workers’ compensation insurance coverage for employees of building and construction contractors and subcontractors. It would, among other things, require all building and construction contractors and subcontractors to provide workers’ compensation coverage for each of their employees. It also contains requirements for written verification of workers’ comp coverage from contractors and subcontractors working for public entities on public projects.

Bill filing began on Nov. 12.