Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

EY GENERAL EWAS March 13, 19% Hon. J. Byron Saunders, Chairman Board of Insurance Commissioners International Life Building Austin, Texas Opinion No. S-191 Re: Can county mutual insurance companies write accidental death policies. Dear Mr. Saunders: You have asked for the opinion of this office as to whether or not county mutual insurance companies can write accidental death policies. Articles 17.01 and 17.25 of the Texas Insurance Code limit county mutual insurance companies as to the types of properties which may be insured, and as to the types of pro- tection offered the policyholder. Article 17.01 specifically limits the subject matter of insurance, and reads in part as follows: “Unless they are restricted by their char- ters, they may write insurance against said hazards: “(a) On both rural and urban dwellings and attendant outhouses and yard buildings and all their contents for home and personal use -- in- cluding family vehicles, musical instruments and libraries; “(b) On barns and other farm, dairy, truck garden, hennery and ranch buildings and improve- ments of every description; “(Cl On all vehicles, harness, implements, tools and machinery of every kind and description used on and about farms, truck gardens, dairies, henneries or ranches; Hon. J. Byron Saunders, page 2 (S-191) “(a) On all fruits and products, other than growing crops, and all fowls, domestic animals and livestock of every description, produced, raised, grown, kept or used on truck gardens, hen- neries, farms, ranches and dairies; and l’(e) On church houses, county school houses, country lodge rooms and country recreation halls, other than road houses and public dance halls and their contents.” Section 1 of Article 17.25 specifically refers back to Article 17.01, and reads as follows: “Section 1. Rew. County Mutual insur- ance companies operating under the provisions of this Chapter shall be authorized to write insurance against loss or damage from any hazard provided therein or that any other fire or windstorm insur- ance company operating in Texas may write on prop- erty described in Article 17.01 of this Chapter. Countv -insurance cm ouawe to write casualtv lines for statewide o+.eration mav rite al& Lines of automobile insurance, provided thzt no such company shall assume a risk on any one hazard greater than five (544 per cent of its assets un- less such excess shall be promptly reinsured.& The underlined phrase, supra, added by Senate Bill 15 of the 54th Legislature, does not embrace accident insurance, nor does it authorize a county.mutual to engage in the casualty field generally, but rather, casualty lines with limitations. (See Attorney General’s Opinion No. S-168 to the effect that county mutual insurance companies may write liability insurance on automobile s. ) Section 1 of Article 17.25 was amended by Senate Bill 15 of the 54th Legislature, and the caption reads in part as follows: ‘1. . by amending Section 1 of Article 17.25 of the Code si as to provide that in addition to lines heretofore authorized, county mutual insurance compan- ies by qualifying may write all lines of automobile insurance a -tatlou. . . .‘I* * Emphasis added. Hon. J. Byron Saunders, page 3 (s-191) Because of the specific limitationsof Articles 17.01 and 1725, it is clear that the Legislature did not intend to authorize such policies, and it is the opinion of this office that county mutual insurance companies can- not write accidentaldeath policies on the lives of their insureds. County mutual insurance companies cannot write accidentaldeath policies on the lives of their insureds. APPROVED: Yours very truly, J. Fred Jones JOHN BEN SIEPPERD State Affairs Division Attorney General W. V. Geppert Reviewer J. A. Amis, Jr. By(lPh-K@.+a Robert 0, Fagg Reviewer Assistant L. W. Gray Special Reviewer Davis Grant First ,Assistant John Ben Shepperd Attorney General