Companies shouldn’t force consumers to buy home and auto insurance together

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) is working to ban “tying arrangements” of home and auto policies. That’s a practice where a company or agent requires a consumer to buy a home and auto policy at the same time.

A new proposed rule would prohibit tying arrangements, which require consumers to purchase a policy they might not need or want. It could also be an unfair competitive advantage for some companies.

TDI Commissioner Cassie Brown said the proposed rule will protect consumers’ rights to shop for the best deals.

“Sometimes your best option is to get home and auto coverage from different companies,” Brown said. “In today’s market, we can’t allow a practice that limits consumer choice.”

The new rule would not prevent “bundling,” that’s when a consumer chooses to buy more than one policy from the same provider to get a discount.

A public hearing on the proposed rule is set for 10 a.m. central time, on March 10. View the proposal.