Texas insurers will have until Jan. 1, 2027, to start telling auto policyholders in writing about their right to demand appraisal in a claims dispute, two months later than the Texas Department of Insurance originally proposed, according to an order the department adopted Sept. 18. TDI's own rule-tracking page confirms the same filing and effective dates.
The rule doesn't create any new right. Texas's Senate Bill 458, which gives policyholders and insurers the right to demand appraisal when they disagree over the amount of a loss, has been law since Sept. 1, 2025. What TDI finalized is the paperwork: an update to the Consumer Bill of Rights for Personal Automobile Insurance, the standard disclosure insurers must give every policyholder, so it tells consumers that the right exists.
TDI extended the compliance deadline after a comment asked for more time
TDI filed the update May 1, setting a Nov. 1, 2026 deadline for insurers to start using the revised disclosure. During the public comment period, which ran through June 15, one commenter asked TDI to push that date back. TDI agreed, moving it to Jan. 1, 2027, so insurers would have "additional lead time to incorporate the adopted changes," according to the adopted order.
Before that date, insurers may use either the newly adopted version or the one in place since Nov. 1, 2024.
TDI received only three comments on the proposal overall: the Insurance Council of Texas and one individual supported it with changes, and a third individual raised concerns about enforcement without proposing specific changes.
The new appraisal line, and three other consumer protections added at the same time
The updated Bill of Rights adds one line addressing appraisal: "You or your insurance company have the right to demand appraisal to resolve a dispute about the amount to repair or replace your damaged property."
A commenter had asked TDI to go further, adding appraisal deadlines and explicit language confirming either party can demand it and that the result is binding. TDI declined. Deadlines, it said, belong in a separate rulemaking under Insurance Code Chapter 1813, the law SB 458 created. The rest, TDI said, is already covered by the wording adopted: the text already names both the policyholder and the insurer, and the word "resolve" conveys that the outcome is binding.
Three unrelated rights were added to the same disclosure at the same time, reflecting other 2025 legislation: a requirement that insurers explain in writing why they declined, canceled, or chose not to renew a policy (House Bill 2067), a bar on charging different rates based on a spousal death (Senate Bill 1238), and a rule requiring insurers to recheck a customer's credit information and adjust premiums at least every three years, with policyholders able to request that review sooner, once a year (Senate Bill 1644).
Texas joins a small group of states that have moved on this issue recently. Washington enacted a similar mandatory-appraisal law in 2025, requiring the provision in policies issued or renewed starting Jan. 1, 2026. Rhode Island enacted its own version July 2, 2025, requiring every policy to include the provision and mandating that both sides use disinterested, state-licensed appraisers. New Jersey lawmakers have introduced companion bills that would create a similar requirement there, though neither has advanced out of committee. Illinois took a comparable step in August 2026, with its own right-to-appraisal law set to take effect July 2027.
