Texas Adopts Insurance Appraisal Rules for Auto and Home Policies
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) announced that Commissioner of Insurance Amanda Crawford has adopted new insurance appraisal rules in Commissioner's Order No. 2026-10210. Published as Title 28, Texas Administrative Code, Sections 5.9800-5.9806, the rules take effect on Nov. 24 and require personal auto and residential property policies to include a compliant appraisal provision.
The rules implement Senate Bill 458, passed unanimously by the Texas Legislature in 2025, which added Chapter 1813 to the Insurance Code. Under the statute, when a policyholder and an insurer dispute the amount of a loss, the amount can be settled through appraisal — a process that determines only the amount of loss, not coverage.
Under the rules, each side appoints an appraiser, and the two appraisers select an umpire. If they cannot agree on an umpire, either party may ask a court to appoint one. A policy may offer a vendor-based umpire-selection option, but only the policyholder may invoke it; the insurer cannot.
The rules also set deadlines. For auto claims, each party generally must appoint its appraiser within 20 days of an appraisal demand, and the appraisers have 40 days to try to agree on the amount of loss; the deadline to demand appraisal is tied to the expiration of the policy's limitations period for filing suit. TDI received comments from 204 commenters during rulemaking, 18 people testified at a hearing on June 2, 2026, and the umpire-selection provision was revised in response to public comment.
The requirements apply to covered policies delivered, issued for delivery or renewed in Texas on or after March 1, 2027. For policies issued before that date, the policy's own appraisal provision continues to control.
(Source: Texas Department of Insurance)
Source: Texas Department of Insurance
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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