Procedural Updates

On December 14, 2021, the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas held their Audit & Finance Committee meeting pursuance to code 2(c)(10) of SLTX’s Plan of Operation. The committee discussed agenda topics including approval of the previous meeting minutes and discussion over the Year-to-Date Financial Updates.  

The committee also discussed and passed motions regarding the approval of previous meeting minutes.  

On December 15, 2021, the Stamping Office Board of Directors held their final meeting of the year. The meeting was held in person and via teleconference. The board discussed various topics on the agenda including welcome of the newest board member, approval of previous board minutes, Finance & Audit committee discussions regarding the YTD Financial update, Executive Director update, Operations Department update, 2022 proposed meeting dates, Bidding and Procurement Committee Draft Policy Submission, and an Executive session followed by final open session and adjournment.   

The Board of Directors also discussed and passed motions regarding the approval of previous meeting minutes, Cyber Liability insurance updates, proposed 2022 meeting dates, and executive session items.  

This is a broad summary of the meeting and not intended to reflect official meeting minutes or detail the scope of any actions taken by the board. Once minutes are reviewed and approved by the Board, they will be added to the website under board minutes.  

The dates for the next Audit & Finance Committee meeting and Board of Directors meeting are to be announced. As always, board meetings are available to the public, and information will be posted as they are announced. 

The November 2021 SMART release includes updates to existing Broker Search/Edit components, such as creation and maintenance of insurer contracts and an improved layout for online filing user maintenance. Additionally, users may now utilize the SMART system to reset passwords instead of using the System Password Reset Request form from SLTX’s website. In most cases, users may now utilize the “Forgot Password?” link from the SMART landing page instead of submitting a password reset request through SLTX. Most significantly, November’s SMART release includes Manual Filing (or Data Entry) transactions. Users may now enter New Policy or New Binder filings in SMART, utilizing the Transaction Entry User Guide as necessary.

We encourage you to contact SLTX’s TechSupport team to schedule an individualized discussion on how existing SMART features can improve your agencies online filing experience. Additionally, TechSupport can schedule in-depth SMART trainings for you and your agency based on your processes, workflows, and lines of business.

For your convenience, previous SMART releases  API, Report, Advanced Search, and Export capabilities are attached. Testing is underway for External Filing to include additional manually input transactions within SMART. The following transactions are expected in the December release: Renewal Policy and Binder, New and Renewal Policy Replacing Binder.

Note: All current processes and procedures in EFS remain available and will work concurrently with SMART until all features are fully delivered in 2022.

With each new release or significant deployment, additional notifications will be sent to all Electronic Filing System (EFS) users. These notifications may also be found on our website under News>Procedural Updates.

SMART’s Agent User Guide is updated with each release and may be obtained directly from SLTX’s TechSupport team for any agency ready to utilize SMART’s features. Contact SLTX Tech Support by email or phone (512) 531-1880 or (800) 681-5848 with any questions.

The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas has added new content to its website!

New Additions include:

• Required Disclosure for Occupational Policies form (effective 1/1/2022)
• Title 5, Chapter 564. Disclosures for the Sale of Certain Occupational Insurance Policies State Law
• Broker FAQ: Which “occupational” policies require a separate disclosure relating to an employer not maintaining workers’ compensation insurance?

These additions can be found through links provided or on our website. Please contact the SLTX Tech Support team by email or phone at (512) 531-1880 or (800) 681-5848 with any questions.

The Stamping Office Board of Directors held a meeting on October 28, 2021. The meeting was conducted in person and via teleconference. The board discussed various topics on the agenda including approval of previous board minutes, 2022 Budget, Konica Minolta SOW, Global Search update, S&P Global Software Agreement, and the Headspring 2022 SOW.

This is a broad summary of the meeting and not intended to reflect official meeting minutes or detail the scope of any actions taken by the board. Once minutes are reviewed and approved by the Board, they will be added to the website under board minutes.

The dates for the next Audit & Finance Committee meeting and Board of Directors meeting are to be announced. As always, board meetings are available to the public, and information will be posted as they are announced.

On September 22, 2021, the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas held their Audit & Finance Committee meeting pursuance to section 2(c)(10) of SLTX’s Plan of Operation. The committee discussed agenda topics including approval of the previous meeting minutes, discussion over the Year-to-Date Financial Updates, and discussion over the proposed 2022 budget.

The committee also discussed and passed motions regarding the approval of previous meeting minutes as well as the proposed 2022 budget.

On September 23, 2021, the Stamping Office Board of Directors held their fourth meeting of the year. The meeting was held in person and via teleconference. The board discussed various topics on the agenda including approval of previous board minutes, Insurance policies, Executive Director update, Operations Department update, IT Department update, Finance & Audit committee discussions regarding the YTD Financial update, and the 2022 Budget.

The Board of Directors also discussed and passed motions regarding the approval of previous meeting minutes, Insurance policies, Headspring SOW, and the 2022 budget.

This is a broad summary of the meeting and not intended to reflect official meeting minutes or detail the scope of any actions taken by the board. Once minutes are reviewed and approved by the Board, they will be added to the website under board minutes.

The dates for the next Audit & Finance Committee meeting and Board of Directors meeting are to be announced. As always, board meetings are available to the public, and information will be posted as they are announced.

Governor Greg Abbott announced Cassie Brown as the new Texas Commissioner of Insurance. Brown is the current Chief Executive of the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). Prior to this role, she served as Commissioner of the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) in 2018, 2019, and 2021.

With more than 20 years of public service experience, Brown has overseen various regulations, markets, and activities related to the Surplus Lines industry.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from St. Edward’s University and attended the Governor’s Executive Development Program at The University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs.

For more information on the new Commissioner, please utilize TDI’s website.