The Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) adopted a new group capital calculation filing requirement that is effective on November 7, 2022.  The new rule, found in 28 Texas Administrative Code   §7.215 (“Section 7.215”), is based on the National Association Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) model regulation that requires an insurer’s ultimate control person in an insurance holding company system to file a group capital calculation concurrently with the insurer’s annual registration (Form B).

On June 17, 2022, the Texas Supreme Court released an opinion in Hegar v. Health Care Serv. Corp. (No. 21-0080) (Jun 17, 2022) regarding whether the Comptroller properly taxed an insurer based on premiums it received from sales of stop-loss insurance policies under Texas Insurance Code Chapters 222 and 257.

The Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) adopted new administrative rules for reciprocal reinsurers that took effect on January 1, 2022. According to TDI, the goal of the new reinsurance regulations is to “ensure TDI retains its authority to regulate credit for reinsurance matters associated with covered agreements, align TDI’s rules with the current approach to regulate reserve financing arrangements for certain life insurance policies, and align TDI’s rules with updates to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) accreditation requirements.”

Atlanta Partner Brian Casey, Co-Chair of Locke Lord’s Regulatory and Transactional Insurance Practice, and Austin Senior Counsel Jon Gillum co-authored an article for Insurance Journal discussing California’s recently adopted amendments to its financial code, resulting in what is now known as the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CFPL).

A special data call for the top 10 auto insurance groups in Texas may be on the horizon. On June 26, 2020, the Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel (OPIC) issued a letter to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) requesting a special data call due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on auto insurance-related risks.

Atlanta Partner Brian Casey and Austin Senior Counsel Jon Gillum co-authored an article for Law360 examining the Oklahoma Supreme Court opinion in Sparks v. Old Republic Hoe Protection Co. Inc. which held that what appeared (and was likely intended) to be a service contract was actually an insurance contract by way of also being a warranty, thereby preventing enforcement of an arbitration clause in the contract.

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has announced that the claims-handling deadlines imposed by Texas prompt-payment laws are extended by 15 days.  The extension will assist carriers in responding to the Coronavirus pandemic and results from the combined operation of actions taken by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan.