July 24, 2019—Texas Watch, a nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen advocacy organization, has filed an open records request with the Texas Department of Insurance to see the language auto insurers are using to limit the amount they pay for repairs.
According to the group's statement, inadequate payments lead to corner cutting.
The group requested documents, communications and other public information within the department's possession pertaining to private passenger and commercial automobile policies and endorsements submitted for approval, or disapproved by TDI within the last ten years containing the terms "prevailing rate" or similar language.
Texas Watch executive director, Ware V. Wendell, says in the statement, it seeks information about how insurers define the rate with which they compensate facilities for repair work.
"We view adequate compensation as crucial to public safety because it supports investment in training, education, proper equipment, and the necessary time to make thorough and safe repairs to damaged vehicles," he noted.
