The department and the office of public insurance counsel must create and maintain a single insurance website with consumer information about residential property and personal auto insurance.
Sec. 32.102. INTERNET WEBSITE. (a) The department, in conjunction with the office of public insurance counsel, shall establish and maintain a single Internet website that provides information to enable consumers to make informed decisions relating to the purchase of residential property insurance and personal automobile insurance. The website must include: (1) a description of each type of residential property insurance policy and personal automobile insurance policy issued in this state, including a comparison of the coverage, exclusions, and restrictions of each policy that allows a side-by-side comparison of the features of the policy forms; (2) a listing of each insurer writing residential property insurance or personal automobile insurance in this state, indexed by each county or zip code in which the insurer is actively writing that insurance, and a profile of the insurer that includes: (A) contact information for the insurer, including the insurer's full name, address, and telephone number and the insurer's fax number and e-mail address, if available; (B) information on rates charged by the insurer, including: (i) sample rates for different policyholder profiles in each county or zip code; and (ii) the percentage by which the sample rate has fallen or risen due to filings in the previous 12, 24, and 36 months; (C) a list of policy forms, exclusions, endorsements, and discounts offered by the insurer; (D) an indication of whether the insurer uses credit scoring in underwriting, rating, or tiering, and a link to the insurer's credit model or a link explaining how to request the insurer's credit model; (E) the insurer's financial rating determined by A. M. Best or similar rating organization and an explanation of the meaning and importance of the rating; (F) a complaint ratio or similar complaint rating system for the insurer for each of the previous three years and an explanation of the meaning of the rating system; and (G) information, other than information made confidential by law, on the insurer's regulatory and administrative experience with the department, the office of public insurance counsel, and insurance regulatory authorities in other states; and (3) if feasible, as determined by the commissioner and the public insurance counsel: (A) a side-by-side comparison of credit scoring models, including factors, key variables, and weights, of residential property insurers in this state; and (B) a side-by-side comparison of credit scoring models, including factors, key variables, and weights, of private passenger automobile insurers in this state. (b) The Internet website required by this section may link to and be linked from the department's and the office of public insurance counsel's main websites, but must have its own Internet address distinct from the address of those main sites. (c) The department and the office of public insurance counsel may include on the Internet website or by link to another site any other information the department and the office of public insurance counsel determine is helpful to consumers of residential property insurance or personal automobile insurance or that the department or the office of public insurance counsel is authorized or required to publish under this code that relates to residential property insurance or personal automobile insurance. Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 151 (S.B. 611), Sec. 1, eff. May 21, 2007.