28 Tex. Admin. Code § 5.9303 - Definition of Catastrophe
(a) An
individual insurer or a group of insurers may petition the Texas Department of
Insurance for a determination that a weather-related event is a catastrophe or
major natural disaster in accordance with Insurance Code §
542.059. The Texas
Department of Insurance will make a determination within three business days of
receipt of a petition, and if the event is determined to be a catastrophe, it
will notify all companies, by bulletin issued by the Texas Department of
Insurance of the designated catastrophe.
(b) An insurer's petition as specified in
subsection (a) of this section must include, but is not limited to, the
following information:
(1) type of losses:
wind, hail, tornado, hurricane, freeze, or other weather-related
losses;
(2) specific lines of
insurance affected: property, automobile, inland marine (any lines which may
involve a first party claim);
(3)
location of the loss: towns, cities, or other specified areas;
(4) specific time period of the event which
produced the catastrophe;
(5) the
insurer's total estimated dollar losses for insured property, by line of
business;
(6) the insurer's total
estimated number of claims, by line of insurance;
(7) a statement of the reason claims cannot
be processed within the time periods specified under the conditions of the
property and casualty policies and Insurance Code §§
542.055 -
542.057.
(c) For a weather-related event to
be considered a catastrophe or major natural disaster by the Texas Department
of Insurance:
(1) The area in which the
losses occur must be defined by reasonable boundaries.
(2) For the designated area where the losses
occur, either the:
(A) estimated total dollar
losses must be $50 million or more in the aggregate for all insurers, and the
estimated total number of claims must be 5,000 or more in the aggregate for all
insurers; or
(B) estimated total
number of claims must be 10,000 or more in the aggregate for all
insurers.
(3) The
estimated dollar losses and number of claims in paragraph (2) of this
subsection may include all lines of insurance listed in subsection (b)(2) of
this section.
(d) If the
Texas Department of Insurance determines a catastrophe exists, the provisions
of Insurance Code §
542.059 apply for all
affected insurers.
(e) Claims
processed in accordance with Insurance Code §
542.059 must include
all losses arising from the event or events identified in subsection (b)(4) of
this section.
(f) In addition to
subsections (a)-(c) of this section, the Texas Department of Insurance may use
any other criteria it deems appropriate for determining if a catastrophe exists
in connection with a weather-related event or natural disaster.
Notes
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