2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · Senate bill

SB1238

SB1238 adds specific insurance protections for people whose spouse has died.

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Official caption: Relating to prohibited insurance discrimination on the basis of an insured's marital status following the death of the insured's spouse.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists Senate author(s): Kolkhorst, Middleton. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.

Bill highlights

Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.

SB1238 adds specific insurance protections for people whose spouse has died.
This is a marital-status protection, not a permanent freeze on the entire premium: the comparison is with the rate that would be charged using married status, not necessarily the person’s last bill.
Title-insurance clarification: Title insurers and agents may still impose reasonable requirements to determine heirship, probate matters or similar issues on a widowed customer in the same manner as on someone who is not widowed.
Signed May 20, 2025, the act took effect September 1, 2025.

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What does it do?

SB1238 adds specific insurance protections for people whose spouse has died. An insurer may not refuse to continue coverage or restrict its amount, extent or kind because a person is widowed or has another marital-status designation reflecting a spouse’s death. It also may not charge that person a rate different from the rate that would apply if the person’s marital status were married. These protections apply notwithstanding the existing exceptions in Insurance Code 544.003. Final law, new section 544.002(d).

This is a marital-status protection, not a permanent freeze on the entire premium: the comparison is with the rate that would be charged using married status, not necessarily the person’s last bill. It does not say other otherwise-lawful rating factors can never change. The insurance-discrimination subchapter has broad insurer coverage, rather than being written solely for automobile insurance. Final law; Existing subchapter scope.

Title-insurance clarification: Title insurers and agents may still impose reasonable requirements to determine heirship, probate matters or similar issues on a widowed customer in the same manner as on someone who is not widowed. The protection does not eliminate necessary title examination after a spouse’s death. Final law, section 544.002(e).

Signed May 20, 2025, the act took effect September 1, 2025. It does not apply to a policy delivered, issued for delivery or renewed before that date; the former law continues for those policies. It does not direct a refund of earlier premiums. Final law, sections 2–3; Official history.

What changed along the way?

Existing law already prohibited certain marital-status discrimination, but section 544.003 allowed specified exceptions, including actions supported by sound underwriting or actuarial principles related to loss experience. SB1238 adds the particular widowhood rule expressly notwithstanding that exception section. It does not replace the entire insurance-discrimination framework. Prior discrimination rule; Existing exceptions; Final law.

The introduced, Senate committee, Senate-passed and House committee versions contained the widowhood protection without the new title-insurance clarification. Morgan and Hernandez’s May 2 House amendment added that clarification. It was adopted, the Senate concurred May 7, and the language appears in the final act. This was the only indexed amendment. Adopted House amendment; Amendment index; All five text versions; Final law.

For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.

Official bill versions

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?

Widowed policyholders gain a specific protection against losing coverage or being rated differently because their marital status reflects a spouse’s death. Insurers must account for that rule in relevant coverage and rating decisions; title insurers retain the stated reasonable-documentation protection. The act does not quantify average premium savings or promise that every policyholder’s total price will fall. Final law.

The March 25 introduced-bill note and the May 2 House-passed note, listed in both amendment and final-stage fiscal entries, anticipate no significant state fiscal impact, assuming costs can be absorbed using existing resources, and no local-government fiscal impact. They do not estimate private premium or insurer-revenue changes. The act makes no new appropriation. Introduced note; House-passed note; Final-stage listing.

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.