Procedural Updates

In March 2023, SLTX’s Board of Directors made a recommendation to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) to reduce the stamping fee from the current rate of 0.075% of gross premium to 0.04% effective 1/1/2024.

On September 22, 2023, TDI published a Notice of Recommendation to Decrease the Stamping Fee Rate for the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas, which allows for a public comment period through October 12, 2023. Click the above link to view the publication and information about the comment period, which includes details about where to make comments.

Until TDI provides feedback with the new rate and effective date, SLTX will not accept any filing with an effective date of 01/01/2024 or later. This will allow SLTX to be proactive in applying the current stamping fee rates while not accepting transactions where a new rate might apply. To facilitate this change, SLTX will be reducing the number of lead-days allowed for making a future filing from 90 days to 45 days. Submitted transactions with an effective date later than 45 days (in advance) will be tagged (errored). Once fee approval is received from TDI, SLTX will resume its acceptance of transactions with the standard lead-time of 90 days.  At that time, any tagged (errored) transactions should be resubmitted for processing. Given the lead-time, SLTX does not expect that any late filings to be generated due to this change.

To add clarity to the timing and application of the proposed new rate: The proposed new stamping fee rate will apply to each new or renewal surplus lines policy with an effective date on or after January 1, 2024. The proposed new rate will also apply to policy date extensions if effective on or after this date. Policies effective on or before December 31, 2023, will run to expiration, cancellation, or next annual anniversary date (for multi-year policies) at the existing rate of 0.075%. This includes any subsequent endorsements, audits, cancellations, reinstatements, installments, and monthly or quarterly reports.

The delayed August SMART release includes the following:

New Features!

• Users can now correct any pending, other than pending reversals, deletes, or updates, from the API Details page (click “Correct Errors”) or from the Policy Details page (click “Edit”)
• Users can now delete any API pending directly from the API Details or Upload Details pages
• Pending transactions will no longer be created for duplicate API submissions, by policy number, effective date, and CustomID, where a previous API submission has been made
• TEST Environment only: All rules for coverage and class code are now enforced for API filers. SMART’s next release will deploy this feature to the LIVE environment, which is scheduled no sooner than Friday, October 13, 2023, allowing time for necessary corrections. See previous notification for additional details.

Improvements:

• Catalog ID now shown on API Upload Details page
• Better handling when correcting API pending(s) for name, policy number, or date changes to display both the old and new values during the correction process
• Better handling of Previous Uploads page to better manage Load times for agents with exceptionally large number of API submissions
• Handling of one-time migration process for Continuous Until Cancelled “dummy renewals” with existing Agent of Record
• Consistent labeling of SLTX ID from Policies Detail page
• Consistent results when searching for an invalid batch number from the Upload API page
• Consistent handling of Contract “edits” when the insurer has had a TDI Company Number change
• Indicator icons added: API filing brokers, Broker with expired license

SLTX will release process improvements and/or enhancements as available.

Visit Training Videos & Guides page to access all user guides or supplemental video components for each transaction or feature in SMART (including API technical and user guides). Need additional support? Sign up for an online support session, or a full walk-though of SMART’s features tailored to your agency’s business / workflows. Or a support session for technical assistance with API (automated) filings and/or SMART Connector processes.

Beginning with the September 2023 release, all rules for coverage and class code will be enforced in SMART. You will encounter an error / tag when submitting a filing with a coverage code not “in a relationship” with a specific class code.  For example, submitting a residential coverage code such as “Homeowners” with a commercial class code such as “Restaurants”.  The September 2023 release is scheduled for Friday, October 6, 2023, allowing time for necessary corrections. For assistance or to have your existing coverage/class code “mappings” reviewed, please contact Tech Support via email.

To provide an opportunity for testing and confirmation of codes, this feature will be available within the TEST Environment as part of the August 2023 release. Tentatively, the August release is slated for August 28^th or August 29^th. As the August release is finalized, a publication and global email notice will be sent to all SMART users with an active and unexpired User ID.

Please note that these coverage and class code rules are automatically applied with any manual SMART filings. No further changes to the manual coverage or class selection processes are required.

The July SMART release included the following improvements:

• Correct Original Filing field now allows search by Policy Number and SLTX ID
• Better handling of existing non-policy transactions when they are transitioned to a Policy Replacing Binder
• Indicator icon added for brokers utilizing a 3^rd party filer (to make filings on their behalf)
• Phase 1 of changes to Outstanding Errors (Tags) page to allow users to choose which data points are shown (via Display feature)
• Improved propagation of CustomID when correcting errors (tags)
• Phase 1 of changes to Upload API page, to allow user to search by various data points (including batch number) on all previously submitted API/XML files
• Email notification if API Batch posting ends abnormally
• Phase 1 of changes to API Batch status when posting fails / encounters a timeout
• API Batch Status endpoint will more appropriately handle bad or invalid data sent as part of the status request
• Market Data Reports are automatically created as part of SMART’s monthly processes

SLTX will release process improvements and/or enhancements as available.

Visit Training Videos & Guides page to access all user guides or supplemental video components for each transaction or feature in SMART (including API technical and user guides). Need additional support? Sign up for an online support session, or a full walk-though of SMART’s features tailored to your agency’s business / workflows. Or a support session for technical assistance with API (automated) filings and/or SMART Connector processes.

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has adopted amendments to certain contact information found in Title 28, Texas Administrative Code (TAC). Amendments include changes to TDI’s mailing addresses, email addresses, and web addresses. Other non-substantive changes, such as replacing the word “font” with “type”, are included in the adoption order. These changes were effective July 1, 2023, and must be implemented no later than September 1, 2023.

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.

The “Complaint Notice” (per 28 TAC §1.601) has been updated to reflect the following changes to the TDI Mailing Address:

• Consumer Protection, MC: CO-CP, Texas Department of Insurance, P.O. Box 12030, Austin, TX 78711-2030.

Please contact the SLTX Tech Support team by phone at (800) 681-5848 (option 1) or by email with any additional questions.

The June SMART release included the following:

New feature!

Batch Status Details download for API filers now includes an indicator for any insurer and/or syndicate that is ineligible (based on policy’s inception date). Technical Reference Guide(s) have been updated accordingly.

Improvements:

• Default results on Batch Reports page, improves load times for agents with exceptionally large number of reports
• Reinstating or Reversing a cancellation that is effective prior to an existing cancellation and reinstatement pair already in the system
• Using “Correct Original Filing” feature where the original filing also used the “Correct Original Filing” feature
• “Correct Original Filing” allows selection of pending (or tagged) items, when not automatically populated
• Updated user context on the “Batch” reports tile from the Filing Reports page
• Policy limits up to 12 digits in length are now allowed
• Handling of hyphenated user names
• Additional revisions to missing or incorrect policy limits warning to better advise on a policy limit that matches any numeric value input on entry page(s)
• Phase 2 of changes to End of Period tasks to improve processing speed

SLTX will release process improvements and/or enhancements as available.

Visit Training Videos & Guides page to access all user guides or supplemental video components for each transaction or feature in SMART (including API technical and user guides). Need additional support? Sign up for an online support session, or a full walk-though of SMART’s features tailored to your agency’s business / workflows. Or a support session for technical assistance with API (automated) filings and/or SMART Connector processes.

The May SMART release included the following:

New feature!

Outstanding Errors (Tags) page with a notification and access point on Broker landing page. This will allow users to visualize all outstanding errors (tags) in a single location. User guides will be updated accordingly. Future releases will include the ability to navigate to correct or delete errors workflow directly from this page.

Improvements:

• Posting times for exceptionally large API batch(es)
• Retaining CustomID when resolving or correcting API pending
• API batch handling when XML submission encounters a hard-fail and/or exceeds max lengths for data elements
• Handling of incorrect date formatting for manual filers
• Consistent application of NAIC Number when creating contracts
• Consistent application of naming conventions with reports
• Phase 1 of changes to End of Period tasks to improve processing speed

SLTX will release process improvements and/or enhancements as available.

Visit Training Videos & Guides page to access all user guides or supplemental video components for each transaction or feature in SMART (including API technical and user guides). Need additional support? Sign up for a walk-though of SMART’s features tailored to your agency’s business / workflows, or a support session for technical assistance with API (automated) filing or SMART Connector processes.

We encourage all paper filers to switch to electronic filings, particularly if you are printing electronic files solely to put it in the mail. You can skip that entire laborious process by utilizing SLTX’s online filing system (SMART) or secure file sharing software. Information on how to register for online filing can be found on our website. To use a secure file sharing service that allows for electronic submissions, rather than mailing, contact Tech Support.

Data exchanged within SMART is encrypted to provide a high degree of security for both the user and SLTX. No user can access another organization’s transactions, and input is restricted to only registered user profiles.

When using SMART, you have the option to file transactions via web entry or through automation. As the primary method of filing, web entry allows agency staff to input individual policy information into a web-based form. Automation allows data submissions to be electronically submitted in XML format.

SMART is the best choice for users because it provides users the opportunity to correct errors as they are detected as well as access to monthly reports and invoices.  These options are not available through the file sharing service.

If the secure file sharing service is your choice, you may access stamping fee invoices, reports and pay stamping fee electronically through SMART by completing the System Registration form on our website. Ensure the box marked “I intend to use the Online Filing System to only make ACH/online payments” is checked. To assist with the transition, SLTX has created the following guides:

• Online Invoice Payment
• Monthly and Annual Reports

In any event, the SLTX team is here to help! Contact us we can assist step-by-step on how to utilize SMART or the online filing system! Happy paperless Filing!

As a reminder, ALL features and/or transactions have been available in SMART as of the January 2023 release. End-of-life for Electronic Filing System (EFS) is May 1, 2023.

 The March/April SMART release included the following improvements:

• Improvements to placement of “Correct Original Filing” field from Policy and Binder entry screens
• Improvements to Policy Limits field (Context for potentially inaccurate policy limit amounts)
• Phase 1 of Global (email) Notifications integrated into SMART, allowing SLTX to send notifications directly to users
• Improvements to automated purge, sync, and display of reports for all available report categories
• Improvements to guidance shown on Policy Limits Upload page
• Policy Limits Upload will now notify user making submission instead of primary agency contact
• Improvements to “Errors” Section from Policy’s Search result page
• Improvements to API batch posting within Test Environment (better management of transactions submitted “outside of reporting month” error assignment)

SLTX will release process improvements and/or enhancements as available.

Available Manual Filing (or Data Entry) transactions: New or Renewal Policies or Binders; New or Renewal Policy Replacing Binders; Premium Endorsements, Audits, and Installments; Audit Amendments; Cancellations; Reinstatements;  Name Change, Policy Number Change, Insurer / Company Change, Expiration Date Change, Inception Date Change, or Other Non-Premium Endorsements; Reversals; Agent/Broker of Record changes; and ability to correct or delete errors (tags).

Visit Training Videos & Guides page to access user guides or supplemental video components for each transaction or feature in SMART. Sign up for a walk-though of SMART’s features tailored to your agency’s business / workflows, or a support session for technical assistance with API (automated) filing or SMART Connector processes.

As of the January 2023 release, ALL features and/or transactions have been delivered in SMART. End-of-life of Electronic Filing System (EFS) is May 1, 2023, and no further access will be available. SLTX will release process improvements and/or enhancements indefinitely as available.

Available Manual Filing (or Data Entry) transactions: New or Renewal Policies or Binders; New or Renewal Policy Replacing Binders; Premium Endorsements, Audits, and Installments; Audit Amendments; Cancellations; 
Reinstatements;  Name Change, Policy Number Change, Insurer / Company Change, Expiration Date Change,
 Inception Date Change, or Other Non-Premium Endorsements; Reversals; Agent/Broker of Record changes; and ability to correct or delete errors (tags).

Visit Training Videos & Guides page to access user guides or supplemental video components for each transaction or feature in SMART. Sign up for a group education session to experience a walk-through of SMART’s features, or request an individualized training session tailored to your agency’s business / workflows or API (automated) filing processes.

The February release included the following improvements:

• Improved handling of error (tag) correction components
• Replacing restricted or invalid coverage/class codes
• Color indicator for “binder data” with Policy Replacing Binder
• Messaging for Windstorm Exclusion indicator for Policy Replacing Binder
• Improvements for API filers who elect to update FCU (Federal Credit Union) flag
• Include API response model information within SMART’s Swagger page and Programmer Technical Reference guide
• Remove “in-progress” reminder from SMART login
• Update SLTX address within SMART reports to reflect new Pflugerville address