On December 22, 1998, the Commissioner of Insurance, in accordance with the statutory requirement of Article 21.81 of the Texas Insurance Code, ordered changes in rates for private passenger and commercial automobile insurance obtained through the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA) -- the assigned risk plan. The Commissioner ordered private passenger TAIPA rates for bodily injury liability coverage to be 89.1% above the voluntary benchmark rates and property damage liability coverage to be 37.6% above the voluntary benchmark rates. The Commissioner also changed rates for private passenger personal injury protection to 292.9% above benchmark, UM bodily injury to 375.6% above benchmark, and UM property damage to 311.1% above benchmark. The overall rate change, after reflection of tort reform, was -27.4%. The voluntary market commercial automobile benchmark rates will apply to such vehicles written in TAIPA.
The changes in the TAIPA rates ordered by the Commissioner are effective for all policies effective on and after March 1, 1999.
Enclosed for your use are revised rates, premiums, rating factors and instructions (called the "machine letter") for companies utilizing EDP equipment to generate March 1, 1999 involuntary private passenger rates. Also enclosed for your use are the new involuntary private passenger auto rate tables (called the "rate bulletin"), similar in format to those that will soon appear in the Texas Automobile Rules and Rating Manual. Please note that the voluntary rates included on these pages are the same as were previously distributed in the sections entitled "Private Passenger Automobile - 2/15/99 Machine Letter (Voluntary Only)" and "Private Passenger Automobile - 2/15/99 Rate Bulletin (Voluntary Only)" of Commissioner's Bulletin B-0087-98. The assigned risk rates were simply added to the pages previously distributed.
The assigned risk rates for commercial automobile are the same as the voluntary commercial automobile benchmark rates. Specifically, these rates are those included in the sections entitled "Commercial Automobile - Machine Letter Effective 1/1/99 (Voluntary Only) - (1/20/98 Benchmark Rates Adjusted For 1/1/99 Tort Reductions)" and "Commercial Automobile - Rate Bulletin Effective 1/1/99 (Voluntary Only) - (1/20/98 Benchmark Rates Adjusted For 1/1/99 Tort Reductions)" of Commissioner's Bulletin B-0075-98, dated October 16, 1998.
Questions regarding this bulletin should be directed to the Property and Casualty Actuarial Section at 512-475-3017.
Sincerely,
Philip O. Presley
Chief Property/Casualty Actuary
Technical Analysis
Attachments:
Download PPA Machine Letter - Pages 1, 3, 5, and 6 (3/1/99 Assigned Risk Rates Added) in PDF or in EXCEL
Download PPA Rate Bulletin - Pages 2-5 and 17-20 (3/1/99 Assigned Risk Rates Added) in PDF or in EXCEL