TITLE exempt-filings

Texas Department of Insurance

Final Action

The Commissioner of Insurance ("Commissioner") at a public hearing under Docket No. 2485 on May 15, 2001, held at 9:30 a.m., in Room 100 of the William P. Hobby, Jr. State Office Building, 333 Guadalupe Street in Austin, Texas, adopted amendments to the Texas Statistical Plan For Residential Risks ("Stat Plan") as proposed by the staff of the Texas Department of Insurance ("TDI').

The amendments proposed by TDI staff are necessary in order to collect experience to support the adjustment of rates for newly adopted Law and Ordinance endorsements. TDI staff proposed amendments to add options to the Law and Ordinance field of the statistical plan. The proposed options for this field are:

0--No Additional Law and Ordinance Coverage is attached to policy (other than the mandatory $5,000 provided in the policy).

1--10% Additional Law and Ordinance Coverage Purchased.

2--15% Additional Law and Ordinance Coverage Purchased.

3--25% Additional Law and Ordinance Coverage Purchased.

4--Other Approved Limits Purchased.

Staff's petition (Ref. P-0301-05-I ) proposing the amendments was filed with the TDI Chief Clerk on March 16, 2001, and notice of the filing was published in the March 30, 2001 issue of the Texas Register (26 TexReg 2545).

The Commissioner adopted all of the amendments described herein at the May 15, 2001 public hearing.

The Commissioner has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to the Insurance Code, Articles 5.05 and 5.96 and §38.202. Article 5.05 authorizes the Commissioner to promulgate and modify statistical plans which shall be used by each insurer in the recording and reporting of its loss experience and such other data as may be required. Article 5.96 authorizes the Commissioner to prescribe, promulgate, adopt, approve, amend, or repeal standard and uniform manual rules, rating plans, classification plans, statistical plans and policy and endorsement forms for homeowners and dwellings insurance. Section 38.202 authorizes the Commissioner to contract with or designate a statistical agent to gather data from reporting insurers under a statistical plan and to adopt rules necessary to accomplish the purposes of that article.

The amendments as adopted by the Commissioner are filed with the TDI Chief Clerk under Ref. No. P-0301-05-I and are incorporated by reference by Commissioner's Order 01-0456.

Consistent with the Insurance Code, Article 5.96(h), prior to the effective date of this action, TDI will notify all insurers writing the affected lines of insurance in this state of this action. This notification is made pursuant to the Insurance Code, Article 5.96, which exempts action taken under this article from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (Government Code, Title 10, ch. 2001).

This agency hereby certifies that the adopted amendments have been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's authority to adopt.

IT IS THEREFORE THE ORDER of the Commissioner of Insurance that the amendments to the Texas Statistical Plan for Residential Risks as described herein, be adopted to be effective for reporting for all affected insurers on July 1, 2001.

TRD-200102748

Lynda Nesenholtz

General Counsel and Chief Clerk

Texas Department of Insurance

Filed: May 16, 2001