Third-Party Policy Filing

In the past, only Texas licensed surplus lines agents have been permitted to report policies to the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas, based on 28 TAC Sec. 15.6(d):

“No surplus lines agent or agency shall shift, transfer, delegate, or assign his or her responsibility to a person or persons not licensed as a surplus lines agent.”

Recently, the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has determined that this regulation does not prohibit an agent from entering into an agreement whereby another entity provides the routine administrative services necessary for required filings with the Stamping Office. However, the surplus lines agent remains responsible for statutory compliance. This means the agent will be held accountable if statutory obligations are not met, and may be liable for late filing assessments and subject to penalties imposed by TDI and ensuring that taxes are correctly reported and paid to the Comptroller’s office.

Training for third-party filers is mandatory. We suggest that new users first take advantage of SLSOT Training Seminars.

When filing with the Stamping Office, each person utilizing the Electronic Filing System (EFS) must have an individual User Profile with his/her own individual userID and password. Sharing userIDs and passwords is a violation of EFS security standards. Each user must undergo testing prior to filing in the EFS live environment. Failure to comply with all requirements will result in removal of the user’s access from the EFS.

Please refer questions regarding filing by third parties to SLTX at (512) 531-1880.