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After fighting the release of documents related to its request to add pre-dispute arbitration to its home insurance policies, Texas Farm Bureau Insurance relented. So, now the public can see firsthand what the company is up to.
You can see for yourself below, but here are the highlights:
The Office of Public Insurance Counsel has weighed in opposing a proposed pre-dispute binding arbitration provision currently under consideration by the state insurance commissioner. OPIC is the state office tasked with representing policyholders in rate and form filing decisions.
In her letter to Commissioner David Mattax, Public Counsel Deeia Beck writes of arbitration generally:
The Texas insurance commissioner is considering an industry proposal that would allow an insurance company to buy your legal rights for a few dollars a month.
This is unprecedented. Never has the insurance department approved a request to allow an insurance company to include what is called a pre-dispute binding arbitration clause in its policies. In fact, it has been part of the agency's published guidelines to reject any insurance policy that includes such language.
