Sec. 3504.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Aggregator site" means an Internet website that provides access to information regarding insurance products from more than one insurer, including product and insurer information, for use in comparison shopping.

(2) "Blanket travel insurance" means a policy of travel insurance issued to an eligible group that provides coverage for specific classes of persons with coverage provided to each member of the eligible group defined in the policy without a separate charge to individual members of the eligible group.

(3) "Cancellation fee waiver" means a contractual agreement between a supplier of travel services and the supplier's customer to waive some or all of the nonrefundable cancellation fee provisions of the supplier's underlying travel contract with or without regard to the reason for the cancellation or form of reimbursement. A cancellation fee waiver is not insurance.

(4) "Eligible group" means two or more persons who are engaged in a common enterprise or have an economic, educational, or social affinity or relationship, including any of the following:

(A) an entity engaged in the business of providing travel or travel services, including a tour operator, a lodging provider, a vacation property owner, a hotel or resort, a travel club, a travel agency, a property manager, a cultural exchange program, and a common carrier or the operator, owner, or lessor of a means of transportation of passengers, including an airline, a cruise line, a railroad, a steamship company, and a public bus carrier, wherein with regard to any particular travel or type of travel or travelers, all members or customers of the group must have a common exposure to risk attendant to the travel;

(B) a college, school, or other institution of learning covering students, teachers, employees, or volunteers;

(C) an employer covering a board of directors or a group of employees, volunteers, contractors, dependents, or guests;

(D) a sports team or camp or sponsor of a team or camp covering participants, members, campers, employees, officials, supervisors, or volunteers;

(E) a religious, charitable, recreational, educational, or civic organization or branch of the organization covering members, participants, or volunteers;

(F) a financial institution or financial institution vendor or a parent holding company, trustee, or agent or designee of a financial institution or financial institution vendor covering persons, including account holders, credit card holders, debtors, guarantors, or purchasers;

(G) an incorporated or unincorporated association, including a labor union that has a common interest, constitution, and bylaws, organized and maintained in good faith for a purpose other than obtaining insurance for the association's members or participants;

(H) a trust, or the trustees of a fund, established, created, or maintained for the benefit of and covering members, employees, or customers of one or more associations meeting the requirements of Paragraph (G), subject to the commissioner's approval and the state premium tax provisions of Section 3504.0004;

(I) an entertainment production company covering a group of participants, volunteers, audience members, contestants, or workers;

(J) a volunteer fire department or an ambulance, rescue, police, court, first aid, or civil defense volunteer group or other similar volunteer group;

(K) a preschool, a day-care facility for children or adults, or a senior citizen club;

(L) an automobile or truck rental or leasing company covering a group of individuals who may become renters, lessees, or passengers defined by the individual's status on the rented or leased vehicles, in which circumstance the common carrier, the operator, owner, or lessor of a means of transportation, or the automobile or truck rental or leasing company is the policyholder; or

(M) any other group with respect to which the commissioner has determined:

(i) the members are engaged in a common enterprise or have an economic, educational, or social affinity or relationship; and

(ii) issuance of the policy is not contrary to the public interest.

(5) "Fulfillment materials" means documentation sent to the purchaser of a travel protection plan that confirms the purchase and provides the travel protection plan's coverage and assistance details.

(6) "Group travel insurance" means travel insurance issued to an eligible group.

(7) "Planned trip" or "planned travel" means any journey or travel arranged through the services of a travel agency.

(8) "Primary certificate holder," specific to Section 3504.0004, means an individual who elects and purchases travel insurance under a group policy.

(9) "Primary policyholder," specific to Section 3504.0004, means an individual who elects and purchases individual travel insurance.

(10) "Travel assistance services" means noninsurance services that do not indemnify the consumer based on a fortuitous event or result in the transfer or shifting of risk constituting the business of insurance. Travel assistance services include security advisories, destination information, vaccination and immunization information services, travel reservation services, entertainment, activity and event planning, translation assistance, emergency messaging, international legal and medical referrals, medical case monitoring, coordination of transportation arrangements, emergency cash transfer assistance, medical prescription replacement assistance, passport and travel document replacement assistance, lost luggage assistance, concierge services, and any other service that is furnished in connection with planned travel. Travel assistance services are not insurance and are not related to insurance.

(11) "Travel insurance" means insurance coverage for personal risks incident to planned travel, including:

(A) interruption or cancellation of a trip or event;

(B) loss of baggage or personal effects;

(C) damages to accommodations or rental vehicles;

(D) sickness, accident, disability, or death occurring during travel;

(E) emergency evacuation;

(F) repatriation of remains; or

(G) any other contractual obligations to indemnify or pay a specified amount to the traveler on determinable contingencies related to travel as approved by the commissioner. Travel insurance does not include a major medical plan that provides comprehensive medical protection for a traveler on a trip of longer than six months, such as an individual working or residing overseas as an expatriate, or any other insurance product that must be sold by an agent with a specific agent's license.

(12) "Travel protection plan" means a plan that provides one or more of the following:

(A) travel insurance;

(B) travel assistance services; and

(C) cancellation fee waivers.

Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1000 (H.B. 2587), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2019.