Sec. 559.103. EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, an insurer shall, on written request from an applicant for insurance coverage or an insured, provide reasonable exceptions to the insurer's rates, rating classifications, or underwriting rules for a consumer whose credit information has been directly influenced by:

(1) a catastrophic illness or injury;

(2) the death of a spouse, child, or parent;

(3) temporary loss of employment;

(4) divorce; or

(5) identity theft.

(b) In a situation described by Subsection (a), an insurer:

(1) may consider only credit information not affected by the event; or

(2) shall assign a neutral credit score.

(c) An insurer may require reasonable written and independently verifiable documentation of the event and the effect of the event on the person's credit before granting an exception. An insurer is not required to consider repeated events or events the insurer reconsidered previously as an extraordinary event.

(d) An insurer may also consider granting an exception to an applicant for insurance coverage or an insured for an extraordinary event not listed in Subsection (a).

(e) An insurer is not out of compliance with any law or rule relating to underwriting, rating, or rate filing as a result of granting an exception under this section.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 728 (H.B. 2018), Sec. 11.020(a), eff. September 1, 2005.