Updated Complaint Notice Takes Effect

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has adopted amendments to the Texas Administrative Code regarding required complaint notices included in insurance policies. These changes were effective on November 4, 2019, and must be implemented no later than May 1, 2020.

The updated complaint notice can be found as an attachment to the rule (28 TAC §1.601) on the Texas Register website. It can also be viewed or downloaded from the TDI Policy Disclosures page on the SLTX website.

Agents must ensure that the notice meets the following requirements:

• The notice must be included with all policies, binders, certificates, or evidence of coverage, and:
  • Be on a separate page
  • Be on the first, second, or third page of the set of documents
  • Be in the same format and layout as the document provided
  • Have at least one blank line between each paragraph
  • Have font no smaller than 10 point
• The following fields must be included:
  • Name of the insurance company (in bold)
  • Title and phone number of the insuring company (in bold)
    • The insuring company may choose to list the agent, agency, or MGA and their phone number instead.
  • Toll-free phone number of the insuring company (in bold)
    • The number is not required to be toll-free for surplus lines insurers.
  • Email address of the insuring company
  • Mailing address of the insuring company
• A Spanish version of the notice must be included for personal automobile, homeowners, and accident and health policies, binders, certificates, and evidences of coverage.

The following fields are optional to include:

• Agent, agency, or MGA contact name, address, and phone number
  • If provided, this information must be below the required insuring company paragraph and above the Texas Department of Insurance paragraph.
• The notice may be on insuring company letterhead
• A toll-free phone number for surplus lines insurers
• The URL of the insuring company

Please contact the SLTX Tech Support team by phone at (800) 681-5848 or by email with any additional questions.