On September 29, 2026, the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) published a proposed amendment to 28 Tex. Admin. Code § 21.1006, which prohibits insurers from declining to write or renew residential property insurance based on the age of a property or its components. TDI characterizes the proposed amendments as clarifying rather than substantive, stating that they “do not change the rule’s meaning or application” but instead “further the goals of Government Code Chapter 465 by making the rule clearer, more concise, and more consistent.” The public comment period runs through November 9, 2026, and TDI will hold a public hearing on the proposal on November 3, 2026.

Background

TDI developed the proposed amendments in response to Governor Greg Abbott’s directive to TDI to address availability and affordability of homeowners’ insurance in Texas. The proposed rule is one of several actions Commissioner Amanda Crawford has outlined to carry out the directive, which aims to keep the cost of auto and home insurance premiums manageable for Texas policyholders. Other recent TDI actions under the same directive include Bulletin B-0007-26, characterizing price optimization in insurance ratemaking as unfairly discriminatory under Texas law, launching a new transparency tool providing data on the reasons for declination of homeowners’ coverage by ZIP code, and Bulletin # B-0008-26 to encourage insurers to offer premium discounts for homes built to storm-resistant construction standards.

Existing Rule: 28 Tex. Admin. Code § 21.1006

Section 21.1006 prohibits insurers from declining to write residential property insurance based on the age or value of the property. As defined in the rule, “residential property insurance” means “insurance against loss to real or tangible personal property at a fixed location provided in a homeowners’ policy or residential fire and allied lines policy.” The existing rule lists specific property components, including wiring, heating, air conditioning, plumbing, and roofing, as examples of items whose age may not serve as the basis for a declination. The rule does preserve insurers’ ability to decline coverage based on the physical condition of a property or its components; the prohibition is limited to decisions based solely on age.

Proposed Amendments

The amendments would reorganize the rule into “a more logical order,” per TDI, and make several changes designed to improve readability. According to TDI, the amendments will “reinforce that the prohibition against declinations based on age include those based on either the age of the property or a component of property.”

Substantive changes of note include:

  • Subsection (b) is revised to contain only the prohibition on declinations based on age. The existing rule’s list of example property components (wiring, heating, air conditioning, plumbing, and roofing) is moved into new paragraph (2) and relabeled as “components or materials.” TDI states that this restructuring “mitigates potential confusion and minimizes interpretive uncertainty” by “incorporat[ing] the age of the components more directly into the subsection.” The amendments also add “siding” to the list of example components.
  • New subsection (d) consolidates the rule’s two carve-outs (previously embedded within subsection (b)). Paragraph (1) reaffirms that the rule does not prohibit “an insurer from declining to write coverage based on the physical condition of the property or any of the property’s individual components or materials.”
  • Subsection (c), prohibiting declinations based on a minimum value of the property, is “essentially the same,” per TDI, with the removal of the phrase “sought to be insured,” which TDI characterizes as unnecessary.

Public Comment and Hearing

TDI will consider written comments on the proposal received no later than 5 p.m., Central time, on November 9, 2026. Comments may be submitted to ChiefClerk@tdi.texas.gov or mailed to the Office of the Chief Clerk, MC: GC-CCO, Texas Department of Insurance, P.O. Box 12030, Austin, Texas 78711-2030. TDI will also hold a public hearing under Docket No. 2874 at 2 p.m., Central time, on November 3, 2026, both in person at the Barbara Jordan State Office Building in Austin and remotely via online resources.

A full copy of TDI’s press release can be found here, and a full copy of the proposed amendment to 28 Tex. Admin. Code § 21.1006 can be found here.