UPDATE: Two laws proposed by the Texas Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (TAPIA). Both the good and bad news.

Bills proposed:

• House Bill 1706, authored by Representative Mary Ann Perez. Read House Bill 1706.

• Senate Bill 796, authored by Senator Mayes Middleton. Read Senate Bill 796.

Governor Abbott just signed one of the bills, HB 1706, into law. Because of this, insurers, even surplus lines, are not permitted to issue any policy endorsements that forbid an insured from hiring a public adjuster. Out of concern regarding the increasing number of carriers adopting “Anti-Public Adjuster” language in their policies, TAPIA pursued this legislation. The right of policyholders to work with public adjusters is protected by the new law. Go through House Bill 1706. Since it safeguards both policyholders’ right to receive assistance with their claim and public adjusters’ right to contract, this is likely the most crucial of the two bills. The good news is that.

It’s important to remember that once the law passed and the regular session ended, Texans for Lawsuit Reform vowed to reject it. TLR remained mute during every hearing and didn’t get in touch with TAPIA to discuss any issues with the bill. There is no way to determine if the Governor’s decision was caused by the unexpectedly late opposition.
In order to develop plans for the upcoming session in 2025, TAPIA continues to investigate ideas during special sessions.

All TAPIA members are sincerely appreciated for their membership and engagement in support of these initiatives.