Texas Department of Insurance

Proposed Action on Rules

The Commissioner of Insurance, at a public hearing under Docket No. 2489 on August 22, 2001, at 9:30 a.m., in Room 100 of the William P. Hobby Jr. State Office Building, 333 Guadalupe Street in Austin, Texas, will consider a proposal made in a staff petition. Staff's petition seeks adoption of amendments to the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) which would establish a new public protection classification, Class 8B, and adoption of conforming amendments to the Texas Personal Lines Manual and the Texas Statistical Plan for Residential Risks, and further seeks to delete outdated rate capping and previous key rate references in the Texas Personal Lines Manual, and to make a typographical correction to the Texas Addendum to the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (Texas Addendum). Staff's petition (Ref. No. P-0701-07-I), was filed on July 9, 2001.

Staff's proposed adoption of amendments to the FSRS, the Texas Personal Lines Manual, the Texas Statistical Plan for Residential Risks, and the Texas Addendum will (1) revise the FSRS to establish the Class 8B Protection and set forth the criteria for eligibility for the new classification; (2) update the FSRS in its references to the new classification and re-number the rules referencing the Class 9 Protection; (3) conform various sections of the Texas Personal Lines Manual and the Texas Statistical Plan for Residential Risks consistent with the establishment of the new Class 8B classification; (4) delete outdated rate capping and previous key rate references in the Texas Personal Lines Manual since the public protection classification system has been in effect long enough that the use of rate capping factors are no longer needed in property rating for insurance; and (5) make a typographical correction to the Texas Addendum by adding a percentage symbol (%) to the denominator in the formula for the calculation of the Texas Addendum Credit.

A copy of the petition, including exhibits with the full text of the proposed amendments to the FSRS, the Texas Personal Lines Manual, the Texas Statistical Plan for Residential Risks, and the Texas Addendum is available for review in the office of the Chief Clerk of the Texas Department of Insurance, 333 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas. For further information or to request copies of the petition, please contact Sylvia Gutierrez at (512) 463-6326; refer to (Ref. No. P-0701-07-I).

To be considered, all comments on the proposed changes must be submitted in writing no later than 5 p.m. on August 20, 2001, to Lynda H. Nesenholtz, General Counsel and Chief Clerk, Mail Code 113-2A, Texas Department of Insurance, P.O. Box 149104, Austin, Texas 78714-9104. An additional copy of the comments must be submitted simultaneously to G. Mike Davis, State Fire Marshal, Mail Code 112-FM, Texas Department of Insurance, P.O. Box 149221, Austin, Texas 78714-9221.

This notification is made pursuant to the Insurance Code, Article 5.96, which exempts it from the requirements of the Government Code, Chapter 2001 (Administrative Procedure Act).

This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's authority.

TRD-200103927

Lynda Nesenholtz

General Counsel and Chief Clerk

Texas Department of Insurance

Filed: July 9, 2001