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Texas: 18% a year on late claims — but hail claims are a different lane

Tex. Ins. Code ch. 542 subch. B (Prompt Payment of Claims, §§542.051-.061) [dual-mirror-verified under D9: texas.public.law + codes.findlaw.com; official TLO serves nav shell to non-browsers]

§542.051(2): "claim" = a FIRST-PARTY claim by an insured/policyholder/named beneficiary, paid directly to the insured — squarely a consumer statute (homeowners, auto, disability, life). Carve-outs (§542.053): workers' comp, mortgage guaranty, title, fidelity/surety, marine; HMOs and ch. 1301 PPO provider claims are OUT (health routes to provider statutes — honest-no for patients)

The verbatim lever

"the insurer is liable to pay the holder of the policy or the beneficiary making the claim under the policy, in addition to the amount of the claim, interest on the amount of the claim at the rate of 18 percent a year as damages, together with reasonable and necessary attorney's fees" (Tex. Ins. Code §542.060(a)) [subsection lead-in reconstructed across two mirrors — re-pull from official TLO before printing the full lead-in in letters].

"if an insurer, after receiving all items, statements, and forms reasonably requested and required under Section 542.055, delays payment of the claim for a period exceeding the period specified by other applicable statutes or, if other statutes do not specify a period, for more than 60 days, the insurer shall pay damages and other items as provided by Section 542.060" (Tex. Ins. Code §542.058(a)).

The weather-claim trap (ch. 542A)

Property claims arising from hail, wind, hurricane, flood or other forces of nature. QUOTING 18% ON A WEATHER CLAIM IS WRONG — §542.060(c) substitutes prime+5 (Fin. Code §304.003 mechanism), and §542A.003 requires a 61-day pre-suit notice stating the acts/omissions, the specific amount owed, and attorney's fees

"simple interest on the amount of the claim as damages each year at the rate determined on the date of judgment by adding five percent to the interest rate determined under Section 304.003, Finance Code, together with reasonable and necessary attorney's fees" (Tex. Ins. Code §542.060(c), ch. 542A weather claims). Current value: prime 6.75% + 5 = 11.75% as of 2026-07 — fixed at the date of judgment, so demands quote it as-of-today.

And the notice gate: notice must be given "not later than the 61st day before the date a claimant files an action", stating "the acts or omissions giving rise to the claim", "the specific amount alleged to be owed by the insurer on the claim for damage to or loss of covered property", and attorney's fees incurred "calculated by multiplying the number of hours actually worked … by an hourly rate that is customary for similar legal services" (Tex. Ins. Code §542A.003(a)-(b)). Our Texas weather demand letter is drafted to BE this notice, element by element.

What Texas health claims get

Texas health claims are carved OUT of the consumer statute (§542.053(c)-(d)): HMO and ch. 1301 PPO prompt-pay interest (18%) runs to the PROVIDER. A patient-facing check returns honest-no and routes to TDI.

Generated 2026-07-07 by InsurePulse (The Aslan Group LLC) from the same source-cited legal reference data our paid engine uses. Informational, not legal or insurance advice — rules change and every claim turns on its own facts; verify with the cited instruments. Contact: info@theaslangroupllc.com