Notification Pursuant to the Insurance Code, Chapter 5, Subchapter L (Editor's Note: As required by the Insurance Code, Article 5.96 and 5.97, the Texas Register publishes notice of proposed actions by the Texas Board of Insurance. Notice of action proposed under Article 5.96 must be published in the Texas Register not later than the 30th day before the board adopts the proposal. Notice of action proposed under Article 5.97 must be published in the Texas Register not later than the 10th day before the Board of Insurance adopts the proposal. The Administrative Procedure Act, the Government Code, Chapters 2001 and 2002, does not apply to board action under Articles 5.96 and 5.97. The complete text of the proposal summarized here may be examined in the offices of the Texas Department of Insurance, 333 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas 78714- 9104.) The Commissioner of Insurance will hold a public hearing under Docket Number 2232 on July 11, 1996, at 9:00 a.m., in Room 100 of the Texas Department of Insurance Building, 333 Guadalupe Street in Austin, Texas, to consider a petition by the staff of the Texas Department of Insurance proposing the adoption of amendments to the revised Texas Private Passenger Automobile Statistical Plan ("revised Plan"). The petition requests consideration of four amendments to the revised Texas Private Passenger Automobile Statistical Plan: (1) An amendment to Section A, General Instructions, of the revised Plan to add Travelers Insurance Group and Nationwide Insurance Group to the Top Reporting Group (TRG) for private passenger automobile statistical reporting, effective January 1, 1997. If adopted, the TRG shall include every company in the following groups: State Farm Insurance Group, Allstate Insurance Group, Aetna Insurance Group, Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Group, GEICO Insurance Group, USAA Insurance Group, Trinity Universal Insurance Group, Progressive Insurance Group, Travelers Insurance Group, and Nationwide Insurance Group. (2) An amendment to Section E, the Detailed Experience Report of the revised Plan to add a field to capture data on the Good Student Discount. According to the petition, companies in the TRG only shall begin reporting this discount effective with August 1, 1996 experience. (3) An amendment to Section E, the Detailed Experience Report of the revised Plan to add additional codes to the existing Rental Reimbursement field in Attachment E-3. According to the petition, companies in the TRG only shall begin reporting using the new codes effective with August 1, 1996 experience. (4) An amendment to delete the word "revised" from the title of the revised Texas Private Passenger Automobile Statistical Plan to be effective August 1, 1996. According to the staff petition, the Commissioner of Insurance designates the members of the TRG and may revise the composition of the TRG as necessary. The TRG was created to allow for detailed reporting of premium, exposure and loss experience for the vast majority of the market in terms of premium, exposure and losses while limiting such reporting to a relatively small number of insurers. Since the creation of the TRG in 1993, the market shares of the top writers of private passenger automobile insurance in Texas have changed. In addition, a merger has occurred between the Aetna Insurance Group and the Travelers Insurance Group. This change in the TRG is proposed to continue collecting detailed transaction statistical data from the largest writers of private passenger automobile insurance by market share in Texas. The information submitted in the Quarterly Detailed Experience Report is required by TDI for a variety of ratemaking and policy analysis purposes and to promote competition in the marketplace. These data will promote competition in the marketplace through the development and distribution of industry aggregate premium, exposure and loss reports in classification detail which will enable small and medium-sized insurers and new entrants to the Texas market to review relevant information about the Texas market and thereby better make independent marketing and pricing decisions. The proposed additions to the TRG are important to maintain reporting continuity in the TRG and to maintain fairness among the largest writers of private passenger automobile insurance in Texas. Every company in the TRG shall quarterly submit the Quarterly Detailed Experience Report as defined on pages E-1 through E-66 of the Plan in addition to other reporting requirements of these companies described in the revised Plan. According to the staff petition, the 1995 Texas Legislature mandated the creation of an optional Good Student Discount. The Good Student Discount was adopted by Commissioner's Order 95-1107 issued October 25, 1995 and effective January 1, 1996. Changes to the revised Plan allow the collection of experience with and without this discount to evaluate the amount of the discount over time. According to the staff petition, Commissioner's Order 95-1164 issued November 7, 1995 adopted new coverage levels for rental car reimbursement. The new coverages will become effective with the setting of rates for these coverages. Rates will be set during the next private passenger auto benchmark rate decision and will become effective with new benchmark rates on August 1, 1996. The change to the revised Plan is necessary to track the different coverage levels. The revised Plan currently provides for reporting only one coverage level for rental car reimbursement. According to the staff petition, staff believes the continued use of the word "revised" in the title of the revised Plan is unnecessarily confusing. The term "revised" was originally used to distinguish between the original Texas Private Passenger Automobile Statistical Plan adopted by the State Board of Insurance on May 6, 1993 under Board Order Number 60321, and the initial revision to that plan adopted by the Commissioner of Insurance on April 26, 1994 by Commissioner's Order Number 94-0457. Continued use of the title "revised Texas Private Passenger Automobile Statistical Plan" as additional revisions are made is unnecessary and may create confusion in future references. The Commissioner has jurisdiction of this matter pursuant to the Insurance Code, Articles 5.96, 5.97, 5.05, 5.98 and 21.69. Copies of the full text of the staff petition and the proposed amendments are available for review in the Office of the Chief Clerk of the Texas Department of Insurance, 333 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas, 78714-9104. For further information or to request copies of the petition and proposed amendments, please contact Sylvia Gutierrez at (512) 463- 6326 (refer to Reference Number A-0596-21-I). Comments on the proposed changes must be submitted in writing within 30 days after publication of the proposal in the Texas Register to the Office of the Chief Clerk, P.O. Box 149104, MC113-2A, Austin, Texas 78714-9104. An additional copy of the comment should be submitted to Birny Birnbaum, Associate Commissioner for Policy and Research, P. O. Box 149104, MC113-1C, Austin, Texas 78714-9104. 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, Chapter 2001). This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's authority to adopt. Issued in Austin, Texas, on May 21, 1996. TRD-9607077 Alicia M. Fechtel General Counsel and Chief Clerk Texas Department of Insurance Filed: May 22, 1996