The Texas Department of Insurance is responsible for authorizing and regulating TAPIA Public Appraisers (PAs) in accordance with the Texas Insurance Code. Our members are dedicated to upholding the TAPIA Code of Professional Conduct for the benefit of the Association and the public we serve. The fee prescription required in Section 4102 066; and the regulation of advertisements under Section 410, 113 and the definition of advertising as the term is used in that section. To become a public insurance adjuster, an individual must meet certain requirements.
They must be either an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas or have successfully passed the licensing exam prescribed in Section 4102.057 or be exempt from the examination requirement under this chapter. The application must be notarized and accompanied by a non-refundable license application fee, as provided in Section 4102.066, for each application submitted. The applicant must also meet the financial responsibility requirements imposed in Section 4102 105; and, except as provided in Section 410 2.058, pass an exam approved by the commissioner and of sufficient scope as prescribed in Section 410 2.057. A business entity described in subsection (a) cannot receive a public insurance adjuster license unless at least one officer, active partner, or other managing person of the business entity, and each individual who performs acts of a public insurance appraiser on behalf of the business entity in this state, have an individual license from the department under Section 4102.053, separately from the business entity. The scheduling and administration of the examinations required under Section 4102.057 shall be carried out by persons approved by the commissioner.
To renew a license, a license holder must submit a full renewal application, proof of compliance with continuing education requirements, and a renewal application fee to the commissioner no later than 30 days before the date of the second anniversary of the license. The department may not issue a public insurance adjuster license if it finds that the applicant has not met any of these requirements: evidence of financial responsibility in accordance with Section 4102 105; evidence of compliance with continuing education requirements and eligibility for renewal under Section 4004.055; or evidence that they have not violated any provisions of this section. A person employed by the department may question anyone under oath for the purpose of collecting information and evidence and may have the information and evidence reduced to writing. All expenses incurred under this section shall be paid at the rates collected under this chapter. A public insurance adjuster cannot accept any payment that violates the provisions of this section or enter into a contract with an insured or charge a commission as provided in Section 4102 (104) without the intention of actually providing services normally provided by an authorized public insurance appraiser for the insured. When determining financial responsibility requirements, the commissioner shall consider factors such as nature of obligation, other financial security requirements under this code, and financial security requirements adopted for public insurance adjusters in other states.
The commissioner may exempt from any continuing education requirement a non-resident public insurance adjuster with a valid license from another state that has continuing education requirements substantially equivalent to those of this state. The holder of a non-resident license is subject to Section 4102, 208 (b), relating to non-compliance with financial responsibility requirements. A license holder cannot enter into telephone calls or personal visits from an insured person during prohibited hours at the policyholder's initiative or directly or indirectly request employment for an attorney, as described in Chapter 38 of the Criminal Code, nor enter into a contract with an insured person with the primary purpose of referring an insured person to an attorney and without the intention of actually providing services normally provided by an authorized public insurance adjuster for the insured. The license holder must familiarize himself with criminal barrier statute established in Section 38.12 of Criminal Code and act at all times in accordance with it. The Commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement and enforce this section. The commissioner may deny a timely license request submitted if applicant fails to demonstrate good cause why denial of previous license request or revocation of license should not be considered an impediment to issuance of new license.
If conduct that constitutes crime under subsection (a) also constitutes offence under any other law, person committing offence may be prosecuted under this section or other law. In addition to criminal penalties imposed under subsection (a), person who violates this chapter is subject to penalties set forth in Sections 541,108-541,110, as if person had violated order under...In conclusion, it is important to understand that becoming a public insurance adjuster requires meeting certain criteria set forth by Texas Department of Insurance. This includes passing an exam prescribed by Section 4102 057; meeting financial responsibility requirements imposed by Section 4102 105; complying with continuing education requirements set forth by Section 4004 055; and familiarizing oneself with criminal barrier statute established in Section 38 12 of Criminal Code.
