Texas House Bill HB 946

Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

• Filed: 11/12/24
• Out of House Committee: 4/25/25

Caption

Relating to prohibiting oral releases for automobile insurance claims.

Summary

HB 946 would prohibit oral releases in automobile insurance claim settlements. Under the bill, a claimant and an insurer, or another person or entity, could not enter into an oral agreement that releases claims arising from property damage or bodily or psychological injury covered by an automobile insurance policy. Instead, any such release would have to be in a separate written agreement to be enforceable. The bill defines key terms such as claimant, injury, and oral release, and it applies broadly to insurers writing personal or commercial auto coverage in Texas, including many types of insurance entities. It also specifies that the new rule applies only to contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026, while earlier agreements remain governed by prior law. The act would take effect September 1, 2025.

Impact

HB 946 would amend the Texas Insurance Code by adding a new Chapter 1955 governing oral releases in automobile insurance claims. It would create a statutory requirement that settlement releases for auto-related property damage or injury claims be memorialized in writing, limiting the enforceability of informal oral settlements. The bill would affect insurers, claimants, and any other parties resolving auto insurance claims, and it would likely reduce disputes over whether a release was actually agreed to and what terms were included.

Sentiment

The available legislative record shows the bill moving through committee and being reported to Calendars, with no recorded votes or committee transcript excerpts provided. Based on the bill’s straightforward consumer-protection and clarity-focused structure, the measure appears to have been treated as a relatively noncontroversial insurance-law update. There is no evidence in the provided materials of organized opposition or significant debate.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided committee materials or vote history. Potential areas of concern, based on the bill text, could include whether the written-agreement requirement adds administrative burden for insurers or changes how quickly minor claims can be resolved, but no named stakeholders or objections are identified in the record provided. The main policy choice is between allowing informal oral settlements and requiring a separate written release for enforceability.