Procedural Updates

The August release includes additional features for Manual Filing (or Data Entry) transactions: New and Renewal Reversals. The linked Transaction Entry User Guide should be utilized for basic entries which do not change Agent of Record or apply to continuous until canceled policies. Users may enter New or Renewal Policies or Binders, New or Renewal Policy Replacing Binders, Cancellations, Reinstatements, Premium Endorsements, Audits, and Installments, and Name Change, Policy Number Change, Insurer / Company Change, Expiration Date Change, or Other Non-Premium Endorsements.

Improvements Include:

• Monthly Totals, Late Filings, and Policy Audit included within Broker Search (see updated guide)
• API filing Batch Reports, including links within confirmation email
• SMART Connector handling improvements (Policy limits)
• Additional paper filer report delivery method such as Batch and Month-End reports

SLTX released API filing capabilities, specific to automated or “programmatic” filers. Adequate broker testing required; this is the primary mechanism data-related scenarios are handled effectively and efficiently. Contact SLTX TechSupport by email for Technical Reference and User Guides to begin or resume beta testing.

API, Report, Advanced Search, Manual Data Entry, and Export capabilities are attached for your convenience. External Filing testing continues, including additional manual (or data entry) transactions, reversals, and update capability.

The Electronic Filing System (EFS) quickly approaching end of tenure! SLTX invites you to sign up for group education sessions for training and questions regarding the new system. Select available training sessions by following this link or request an individualized training session tailored to your agency’s business/workflows here.

With each new release and deployment, additional notifications will be published. These notifications may also be found on our website under News>Procedural Updates.

This release includes additional features for Manual Filing (or Data Entry) transactions: New Policy Replacing Binder and Non-Premium Endorsement. The linked Transaction Entry User Guide should be utilized for basic entries which do not change Agent of Record or apply to continuous until canceled policies. Users may enter New or Renewal Policies or Binders, Cancellations, Renewal Policy Replacing Binders, Reinstatements, Premium Endorsements, Audits, and Installments, and Name Change, Policy Number Change, Insurer / Company Change, or Expiration Date Change Endorsements.

Improvements Include:

• SMART Logo Implementation
• “Get More Help” feature within SMART’s Help menu provides requests for additional assistance
• Improved TDI license data syncing into SMART
• Expiration timeframe for password reset email link
• Consistent messaging when submitting a reinstatement (with a lapse in coverage from cancellation date)
• Consistent messaging when attempting to access invalid or prohibited page
• Updated context for API filers when encountering parsing failures

SLTX released API filing capabilities, specific to automated or “programmatic” filers. Adequate broker testing is required; this is the primary mechanism data-related scenarios are handled effectively and efficiently. Contact SLTX TechSupport by email to obtain Technical Reference and User Guides to begin or resume beta testing.

API, Report, Advanced Search, Manual Data Entry, and Export capabilities are attached for your convenience. Testing continues for External Filing including additional manual (or data entry) transactions, reversals, and update capability.

With Electronic Filing System (EFS) quickly approaching end of tenure, SLTX invites you to sign up for group education sessions to obtain necessary training and answer any questions. You can select an available training session by following this link. You may also request an individualized training session tailored to your agency’s business/workflows here. Many EFS features are now integrated into SMART. Users express ease of use and process improvements such as elimination of batches, enhanced coverage and class selections, and elimination of inserting tax, stamping fee, and total gross amounts manually.

With each new release and deployment, additional notifications will be published. These notifications may also be found on our website under News>Procedural Updates.

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

New Additions include:

• System login updated to reflect EFS login
• SMART login included on home page
• Reset password link updated to link directly to SMART’s password reset page
• Link to SMART Training/ DEMO session has been relocated on home page

Please contact the SLTX Tech Support team by email or phone at (512) 531-1880 or (800) 681-5848 with any questions.

The June SMART release includes features for Manual Filing (or Data Entry) transactions: Insurer / Company Change Endorsements, and Renewal Policy Replacing Binders. The Transaction Entry User Guide should be utilized for basic entries which do not change Agent of Record or apply to continuous until canceled policies. Users may continue entering New or Renewal Policies or Binders, Cancellations, Reinstatements, Premium Endorsements, Audits, and Installments, and Name Change, Policy Number Change, or Expiration Date Change Endorsements.

Improvements include:

• Bug fixes for API update transactions
• Improved insurer percentage of participation within New / Renewal entry screens
• Visible Broker’s status within Security tab from Broker Search. This includes updated warning language.
• Improved missing or single name portrayal within “Invite New User”
• Additional context from “Sent Invitations” tab (expiration date, and name of user initiating invitation)
• Ability to export Insurer search results
• Additional context within API end-point for Batch Status
• Updated language for “in progress” notification

See links for previous SMART release documentation for API, Report, Advanced Search, Manual Data Entry, and Export capabilities. Testing continues for External Filing to include additional manual (or data entry) transactions, including reversals and update capability. Adequate broker testing is required since it is the primary mechanism to ensure data-related scenarios are handled effectively and efficiently.

Interested in attending a group training session? You can select a session by following this link. You may also request an individualized training session tailored to your agency’s business/workflows here.

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.

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

The May 2022 SMART release includes additional features for Manual Filing (or Data Entry) transactions: Expiration Date Change Endorsements. The linked Transaction Entry User Guide can be utilized as necessary for basic entries which do not change Agent of Record or apply to continuous until canceled policies. Users may continue entering New or Renewal Policies or Binders, Cancellations, Reinstatements, Premium Endorsements, Audits, and Installments, and Name Change or Policy Number Change Endorsements. Users will view additional context regarding password requirements at each stage or section which involves password creation. Users will also experience improvements to cancellation and reinstatement entry processes when original policy filings had non-Texas premium, and when searching for or selecting a policy number within the “Corrects Original ID” field. Improvements were also added to duplicate policy warning notifications, password reset workflow (to better inform users about their profile or agency status), and the policy results export feature (to better handle policy numbers with leading zeros (in an Excel format)).

As a reminder, SLTX released API filing capabilities, specific to automated or “programmatic” filers. Adequate broker testing is required since it is the primary mechanism to ensure data-related scenarios are handled effectively and efficiently. All automated filers are strongly encouraged to contact SLTX TechSupport by email to obtain Technical Reference and User Guides to begin or resume beta testing.

For your convenience, previous SMART release documentation regarding API, Report, Advanced Search, Manual Data Entry, and Export capabilities are attached. Testing continues for External Filing to include additional manual (or data entry) transactions, including reversals and update capability.

With SLTX’s current Electronic Filing System (EFS) quickly approaching the end of its tenure, SLTX is conducting group education sessions to highlight SMART’s updated and user-friendly workflows.  Many features from EFS have been integrated into SMART as well as many processes and data entry improvements. Data entry users appreciate ease of use and process improvements made to the application such as elimination of batches, enhanced coverage, and class selection, and eliminating necessity of manually inserting tax, stamping fee, and total gross amounts.

Interested in attending a group training session? You can select an available training session by following this link. You may also request an individualized training session tailored to your agency’s business/workflows here.

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.

Did you know that SLTX’s current Electronic Filing System (EFS) is quickly approaching the end of its tenure as the online filing system for the State of Texas and is being replaced with an updated and much more user-friendly system called “SMART”?  Many of your favorite features from EFS have already been integrated into SMART as well as many processes and data entry improvements.

SLTX has already conducted training for individual agencies and the feedback from those users is overwhelmingly positive.  Data entry users appreciate the ease of use and process improvements made to the application such as elimination of batches, enhanced coverage and class selection, and eliminating manual input of tax, stamping fee, and total gross amounts.

During the month of December, SLTX will provide GROUP education sessions. Each session lasts two hours with a maximum of 25 participants to demonstrate the SMART application. Interested participants can select a training session by following this link. Once selected, participants will receive a confirmation email containing a TEAMS meeting link and the option to add the event directly to their calendar.

You may also request an individualized training session tailored to your agency’s business/workflows here.

We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming SMART Education session!

Please contact the SLTX Tech Support team by email or phone at (512) 531-1880 or (800) 681-5848 with any questions.

The April 2022 SMART release includes additional features for Manual Filing (or Data Entry) transactions: Name Change Endorsements, and Policy Number Change Endorsements. The linked Transaction Entry User Guides can be utilized as necessary for basic entries which do not change Agent of Record or apply to continuous until canceled policies. Users may continue entering New or Renewal Policies or Binders, Cancellations, Reinstatements, Premium Endorsements, Audits, and Installments. Users may now search for and/or view an Insurer’s NAIC Number directly from Data Entry screens. Users may also edit primary / secondary (online filing) contact information within Broker Security. Additionally, an API endpoint was created to return an individual Batch’s Status, and improvements were made for API filings to better handle submissions which reflect AOR changes on parent policies. Lastly, improvements were added to enforce default sort order for Insurer searches, updated Entry Method to promote clarity, and further strengthen password requirements.

As a reminder, SLTX released API filing capabilities, specific to automated or “programmatic” filers. Adequate broker testing is required as it is the primary mechanism to ensure data-related scenarios are handled effectively and efficiently. All automated filers are strongly encouraged to contact SLTX TechSupport by email to obtain Technical Reference and User Guides to begin or resume beta testing.

Please contact SLTX’s TechSupport team to schedule a discussion regarding SMART features and how it can improve your agency’s online filing experience. Furthermore, TechSupport can schedule additional SMART training for you and your agency based on processes, workflows, and lines of business.  SMART’s Agent User Guide is updated each release and can be obtained directly from SLTX’s TechSupport team through email or phone (512) 531-1880 or (800) 681-5848.

For your convenience, previous SMART releases regarding API, Report, Advanced Search, Manual Data Entry, and Export capabilities are attached. Testing continues for External Filing to include additional manually input transactions. The following transactions are expected for May release: Non-Premium Endorsements, 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.

The March 2022 SMART release includes a reinstatement feature for Manual Filing (Data Entry) transactions. The Transaction Entry User Guide can be utilized as necessary for basic entries which don’t change Agent of Record or apply to continuous until canceled policies. Users may continue to enter New or Renewal Policies or Binders, Cancellations, and Premium Endorsements, Audits, and Installments. Users may now perform policy-level search(es) by Federal Credit Union (FCU) or Purchasing Group selections. Additionally, warnings were implemented to notify users up-front if a policy filing has a policy term of 1 day or is unusually long, or if a policy entry appears to be a duplication of an existing filing (based on policy number, policy period, and total premium amount). Lastly, improvements were added to reflect the environment on existing email notifications, to better calculate the number of expected results for Advanced Policy Search, and to augment date formatting and handling.

As a reminder, SLTX has released API filing capabilities, specific to automated or “programmatic” filers. Broker testing is required as it is the primary mechanism to ensure data-related scenarios are handled effectively and efficiently. If you, as an automated filer, have not requested updated Technical Reference and User Guides or are ready to resume beta testing, please contact the SLTX TechSupport team by email.

Please contact SLTX’s TechSupport team to schedule a discussion regarding SMART features and how it can improve your agency’s online filing experience. Furthermore, TechSupport can schedule additional SMART training for you and your agency based on processes, workflows, and lines of business. SMART’s Agent User Guide is updated each release and can be obtained directly from SLTX’s TechSupport team through email or phone (512) 531-1880 or (800) 681-5848.

For your convenience, previous SMART releases regarding API, Report, Advanced Search, Manual Data Entry, and Export capabilities are attached. Testing continues for External Filing to include additional manually input transactions. The following transactions are expected for April release:  Non-Premium Endorsements, 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.

The February 2022 SMART release includes a cancellation feature for Manual Filing (Data Entry) transactions. The Transaction Entry User Guide can be utilized as necessary for basic entries that don’t change Agent of Record or apply to continuous until canceled policies. Users may continue to enter New or Renewal Policies or Binders, and Premium Endorsements, Audits, and Installments. Users may now view coverage and class code (exclusive) relationships directly within Coverage or Class Search, and this feature will automatically apply within each entry. Improvements were added to Advanced Policy Search to better handle exact policy number matches and to also include a count of Expected Results before your search is executed. Lastly, additional API (automated filer) features were released. SMART will provide email notifications to the filer when the API batch posting is completed. Furthermore, improvements were added to better manage automated submissions and user access when not approved or authorized to make submissions in the Live Environment due to incomplete testing.

As a reminder, SLTX released filing features specific to automated or “programmatic” filers as these methods make up majority of transactions filed with SLTX. Broker testing is required as it is the primary mechanism to ensure data-related scenarios are handled effectively and efficiently. If you, as an automated filer, have not requested updated Technical Reference and User Guides or are ready to resume beta testing, please contact the SLTX TechSupport team by email.

Please contact SLTX’s TechSupport team to schedule a discussion regarding SMART features and how it can improve your agency’s online filing experience. Furthermore, TechSupport can schedule additional SMART training for you and your agency based on processes, workflows, and lines of business. SMART’s Agent User Guide is updated each release and can be obtained directly from SLTX’s TechSupport team through email or phone (512) 531-1880 or (800) 681-5848.

For your convenience, previous SMART releases regarding  API, Report, Advanced Search, Manual Data Entry, and Export capabilities are attached. Testing continues for External Filing to include additional manually input transactions. The following transactions are expected for March release:  Reinstatement, Non-Premium Endorsements, 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.

The January 2022 SMART release includes additional features for Manual Filing (or Data Entry) transactions: Premium Endorsement, Installment, Audits, and utilizing the Transaction Entry User Guide as necessary for basic entries that don’t change Agent of Record or apply to continuous until cancelled policies. Users may continue entering New or Renewal Policies or Binders transactions by utilizing the Policy or Binder User Guide as necessary. Secondarily, users now can perform policy search(es) by any value(s) input in the Reference field. Lastly, process and workflow improvements were added to improve clarity with user statuses, to better manage “batches” from a user perspective, and to restrict filing access from users that have elected the “ACH/Online payments only” permission.

Please contact SLTX’s TechSupport team to schedule a discussion on SMART features and how it can improve your agency’s online filing experience. Furthermore, TechSupport can schedule additional SMART training for you and your agency based on processes, workflows, and lines of business. 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.

For your convenience, previous SMART releases regarding  API, Report, Advanced Search, Manual Data Entry, and Export capabilities are attached. Testing continues for External Filing to include additional manually input transactions within SMART. The following transactions are expected for February release: Cancellation, Reinstatement, 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.