October 2020

Texas Surplus Line Reporter

We are insurance industry professionals working
and writing about this business for over 40 years.

Articles

SLR 3rd Quarter Premium Results

SLR 3rd Quarter Premium Results

Surplus lines premium in Texas is up by 11.99 percent compared with the end of the third quarter last year. The major line of Other Liability is up 8.67 percent, but the second highest line by total premium, Fire (including Allied Lines), was up 22.78 percent. The...

TWIA Meeting

TWIA Meeting

Following a bit of political pressure and discussion on expanding the data available for the independent actuary, the Actuarial and Underwriting Committee of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association postponed action on a rate increase for residential and commercial...

Commissioner Authorizes Cut in Stamping Fee

Commissioner Authorizes Cut in Stamping Fee

Among his last acts as insurance commissioner, Kent Sullivan issued an order adopting a decrease in the stamping fee collected by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas. The decrease is from 0.15 percent to 0.075 percent of gross written premium. The order, signed...

SLTX Plan of Operation – Opinion

SLTX Plan of Operation – Opinion

Commissioner of Insurance Kent Sullivan left the office on Sept. 30 with a host of accolades for modernizing the Texas Department of Insurance and making it more accessible and more understandable to Texas policyholders and complainants. His recent actions in regard...

SLR Market Sets Record Growth

SLR Market Sets Record Growth

With direct premium written growing at 11.2 percent and surpassing the $50 billion mark, the surplus lines market segment set a new record in 2019, according to Best's 27th Market Segment Report: Expanding Opportunities Bolster Surplus Lines Growth and Operating...

News In Brief

People

People

MJ Kelly, a national commercial insurance brokerage operation headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, has announced the promotion of Tracy Todaro to director of marketing for MJ Kelly. She was most recently the territory marketing manager of MJ Kelly's Shreveport,...

Meetings and Education

Meetings and Education

The Insurance Council of Texas introduced the virtual replacement for the annual Property and Casualty Symposium, jointly sponsored by ICT and AFACT, with a business meeting on Oct. 6. Albert Betts, executive director of ICT, said that ICT is comprised of 400 insurers...

Local Acquisitions

Local Acquisitions

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has submitted revised application and renewal forms to the Texas Department of Insurance for approval. The new forms are applicable to both residential and commercial policies. The revised forms are part of TWIA's effort to...

Mergers & Acquisitions

Mergers & Acquisitions

CRC Group announced Oct. 1 that it has completed the acquisition of Specialty Risk Associates, a Shreveport, Louisiana-based MGA and surplus lines broker. The addition of Specialty Risk continues CRC Group's expansion in binding, transportation binding and personal...

NAIC

NAIC

The initial meeting of the NAIC's Special Committee on Race and Insurance on Sept. 17 established the committee's five work streams and the co-chairs of each group. They include: Research/analyze level of diversity and inclusion within and access to the insurance...

TWAI

TWAI

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has submitted revised application and renewal forms to the Texas Department of Insurance for approval. The new forms are applicable to both residential and commercial policies. The revised forms are part of TWIA's effort to...

Litigation

Litigation

In the case of Sproull v. State Farm, an Illinois appeals court recently ruled that an insurer could not depreciate labor as a component of replacement cost. The court analyzed whether labor, as a component of replacement cost, may be depreciated when calculating...

Merit’s Reads

Merit’s Reads

I'm hearing more and more from organizations about how to protect employee engagement in a remote work environment.  Then the next question is, "As a leader, what should I be doing?"  Bestselling author Patrick M. Lencioni describes the leader's crucial role in The...

New Commissioner

Governor Greg Abbott has enough to deal with between now and Nov. 3, said attorney and insurance lobbyist Jay Thompson, Thompson, Coe, Cousins, when he addressed the Insurance Council of Texas  Property and Casualty Symposium on Oct. 14. Thompson predicted that a new...