Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
Relating to public
information regarding workers' compensation insurance rate filings.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is
anticipated.
SB 978 would amend section 2053.004 of the Insurance Code.
Specifically, it would subject each workers’ compensation ratings filing plan
to Chapter 552 of the Government Code.
Additionally, this legislation would require the Texas
Department of Insurance (TDI) to make available its process and methodology for
approving or disapproving rate reviews. This process must be discussed in
general terms and may not reveal any proprietary or trade secret information of
any insurer. The department’s explanation of its methodology would be public
information.
Current laws require insurers to file a workers’
compensation ratings plan with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI).
However, since these filings are public information, some insurance carriers
will request a competitor’s filings to obtain trade secrets. This gives an
unfair advantage to a carrier’s competition since a carrier must divulge
proprietary information in the rating plan.
This legislation would subject carrier filings to Chapter
552 of the Government Code, which would protect the proprietary information in those
plans from becoming public information.
We are neutral on SB 978. While this legislation would
protect an insurer’s trade secrets, we must remember that workers’ compensation
is a state run system. Insurers are under no obligation to offer this type of
insurance. If they choose to offer this
insurance then they risk dealing with increased government involvement in their
business.