Procedural Updates

Lone Star Lines
Volume 21, January – March & Special Report

On February 12, 2015 eligible surplus lines insurers were directed by Commissioner’s Bulletin #B-0003-15 to report to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) the number of policies in force in Texas as of December 31, 2014. The deadline for providing this information is March 1, 2015.

In years past, the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas has responded to this request on behalf of surplus lines insurers. For several years now, more and more insurers have been reporting their own information to TDI. This year, we plan to prepare the policy count report for insurers, but insurers should then self-report that information to TDI. As always, we are available to answer questions regarding the policy counts reflected in our database. Our report will be run the last week in February 2015. Please refer questions to SLTX at (512) 531-1880.

By this time, you should have received the last of the monthly late filing reports for 2014. If you file using the Electronic Filing System (EFS), these reports were no longer mailed to you beginning with the September report, but rather they were available through the EFS. The annual report will be available the same way. It is important that you review all the reports carefully for any transactions you believe are appearing in error. If you file using the EFS, you should use the “Correction Re-Entry tieback” option for any necessary corrections. If you file by paper, you need to provide us with appropriate documentation to confirm the item in question is not late so it can be adjusted before the annual report is run. If you delay too long before resolving these “false-positive” transactions, it will be too late to have them resolved. They must be resolved prior to the running of the annual late filers report. The annual late filers report will be run on March 10, 2015.

Effective May 28, 2011, Texas Insurance Code Section 981.105 specifies the regulatory remedies the Commissioner may take for late-filed surplus lines policies. Section 981.105 provides two authorized remedies for surplus lines agents who file policies late: fees and enforcement actions. These will be determined from the 2014 annual late filing report.

Lone Star Lines
Volume 20, October – December

Lone Star Lines
Volume 20, July – September

Lone Star Lines
Volume 20, April – June

Lone Star Lines
Volume 20, January – March & Special Report

By now, you will have received the last of the monthly late filing reports for 2013. It is very important that you review all of these reports carefully for any transactions you believe are appearing in error. If you file using the Electronic Filing System (EFS), you should use the “Correction Re-Entry tieback” option for any necessary corrections. If you file by paper, you will need to provide us with appropriate documentation to confirm the item in question is not late so it can be adjusted before the annual report is run. If you delay too long before resolving these “false-positive” transactions, it will be too late to have them resolved. They must be resolved prior to the running of the annual late filers report. The annual late filers report will be run March 7, 2014.

Effective May 28, 2011, Texas Insurance Code Section 981.105 specifies the regulatory remedies the Commissioner may take for late-filed surplus lines policies. Section 981.105 provides two authorized remedies for surplus lines agents who file policies late: fees and enforcement actions. These will be determined from the 2013 annual late filing report.