National Association Of Independent Insurers v. Texas Department Of Insurance

925 S.W.2d 667 (1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Rule 1000, prohibits insurance companies from refusing to sell certain types of insurance to prospective purchasers because they have had an insurance policy canceled by another insurer, or because they have been insured by a county mutual or surplus lines insurance company. In adopting Rule 1000, D presented the following: Insurers should, on an independent basis, determine whether to insure an applicant in accordance with their individual underwriting guidelines. If another insurer has declined to write, canceled, or non-renewed a policy that should not in whole or in part be the basis for an insurer declining to write the applicant. Such action is anti-competitive and results in the blacklisting of some consumers from the insurance market. D stated that the rule 'will result in greater fairness . . . , increased competition, and better-informed consumers.' Rule 1003, prohibits insurers from conditioning the sale of automobile insurance on the purchase of another policy or denying an application because the applicant owns only one car. D claimed 1003 will result in eliminating any practice of determining the company, coverage, or price of personal automobile insurance on the basis of the number of vehicles to be insured on the policy. It will also eliminate the practice of tying the sale of a personal automobile insurance policy to another policy, except in specific instances that such tie-in is allowed by the rule. This will result in greater fairness in the personal automobile insurance marketplace and greater availability and affordability of personal automobile insurance. Ps claimed that these rules were not adopted in substantial compliance with procedural requirements for agency rulemaking contained in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Ps lost in the trial court and the court of appeals. Ps appealed.