The Texas Department of Insurance will soon be taking on additional responsibility for issuing Certificates of Compliance for coverage from the state’s insurer of last resort for wind and hail for properties in areas along the Gulf Coast.
Effective June 1, 2020, the TDI will begin issuing Certificates of Compliance for completed improvements in addition to the Certificates of Compliance it already issues for ongoing improvements. The last day the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association will accept applications for Certificates of Compliance for completed improvements is May 31, 2020.
TWIA began issuing Certificates of Compliance for completed improvements on Jan. 1, 2017, as the result of legislation passed in 2015. There are currently two routes to certification – one through TWIA and the other through TDI – and which one property owners follow is based on the construction status of the improvement to be certified.
Starting June 1, 2020, there will only be one route to certification: through TDI.
TDI will have additional oversight of the certification process for completed improvements such as engineers being required to affirm that a completed improvement is constructed in accordance with its design (i.e. the construction will be evaluated, not just its design). TDI will also be allowed to:
- Deny an application if an engineer’s evaluation is not fully documented; and
- File complaints to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors related to the engineering work of a professional engineer.
Windstorm Certificates of Compliance (WPI-8s/WPI-8-Cs) are an important eligibility requirement for TWIA, as well as for some private insurance companies. Certificates of Compliance issued by TWIA will remain valid after June 1, 2020. Property owners will not have to re-certify their structures in order to remain eligible for TWIA insurance.
TWIA’s process of issuing Certificates of Compliance will remain unchanged for the lifespan of the program.
Policyholders and the engineers they hire to help certify a structure will apply to TDI rather than TWIA for a Certificate of Compliance for completed improvements.
Source: TWIA
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