28 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.20 - Plain Language and Readability Requirements

(a) Purpose. This section establishes plain language requirements and procedures to make contracts easier to read by the public and to remove language that may be unjust, deceptive, misleading, or unreasonably confusing.

(b) Applicability. This section applies to all forms that are filed under this subchapter and issued to consumers, except for:

(1) forms that are subject to Subchapter G of this chapter (relating to Plain Language Requirements for Health Benefit Policies); and

(2) group annuity products.

(c) Plain language. Forms must be written in plain language and organized in a manner to make it easy for consumers to understand.

(d) Flesch Reading Ease requirements.

(1) The text of the form must achieve a minimum Flesch Reading Ease score of 40, calculated using the method described in § 3.602(b)(1), (c), and (d) of this title (relating to Plain Language Requirements).

(2) An issuer must include a statement of the Flesch score of the document when the form is submitted to the department. The department may require the submission of further information to verify compliance.

(e) Best practices. In determining whether forms are written in plain language and organized in a manner to aid consumer understanding, the department will consider plain language best practices, including:

(1) the use of short, familiar words or words that are used in common speech, rather than the use of jargon or technical terms, and defining technical terms used when necessary;

(2) whether the form is written in a clear and coherent manner;

(3) the unnecessary use of technical or abstract words;

(4) whether short sentences are used in paragraphs limited to a single topic, when possible, rather than the use of complex and compound sentences;

(5) the unnecessary use of prefixes and suffixes;

(6) whether the style, arrangement, and overall appearance of the form gives undue prominence to any portion of the text; and

(7) the organization of the form, including as modified by any rider, endorsement, or amendment, such as:

(A) whether the form is organized in a logical order, with clear sections and headings;

(B) whether the form's coverage provisions are self-contained and independent;

(C) whether the form is appropriately divided and captioned in meaningful sequence, where each section contains an underlined, boldfaced, or otherwise conspicuous title or caption at the beginning of the section that indicates the nature of the subject matter included in or covered by the section;

(D) whether the form unreasonably refers the reader from section to section;

(E) whether general policy provisions, such as defined words and terms or limitations and exclusions, are located in a common area and appropriately captioned; and

(F) whether the use of a separate form, such as an amendment or endorsement used to modify a contract, policy, certificate, or evidence of coverage, will result in confusion about the coverage, particularly if this will occur at the time coverage is first issued.

(f) Definitions. Companies may use a separate definitions section for words used throughout the policy or evidence of coverage. If a separate definitions section is used, it must appear early in the form.

(g) Formatting. The form must:

(1) except for specification pages, schedules, and tables, be printed in not less than 10-point type;

(2) use a font style and size that is easy to read, considering the audience; and

(3) use a format that aids readability, with sufficient white space and the use of bulleted or numbered lists when appropriate.

(h) Table of contents. A form must contain a table of contents or an index of the principal sections if it has more than 3,000 words on three or fewer pages of text or if it has more than three pages, regardless of the number of words.

Notes

28 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.20

Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 50, Number 15, April 11, 2025, TexReg 2400, eff. 4/17/2025