7.2 Filing With the Stamping Office: The 60-Day Rule, What to File, How to File, and Who Files

7.2 Filing With the Stamping Office: The 60-Day Rule, What to File, How to File, and Who Files

Filing is how Texas sees the surplus lines market. The filing lets the Stamping Office verify the insurer's eligibility and the policy's required contents, gives TDI and the Comptroller the data they need, and triggers the stamping fee. The outline tests the deadline, the contents, and who must file.

---

1. The Deadline

TIC § 981.105(a): Not later than the 60th day after the later of the effective date or the issue date of new or renewal surplus lines insurance, the responsible surplus lines agent must file with the Stamping Office (1) a copy of the policy, or (2) if the policy has not been issued, a copy of the certificate, cover note, or other confirmation of insurance delivered to the insured.

28 TAC § 15.106(a) restates the rule for each executed policy, contract, or other detailed evidence of coverage, including additions, deletions, or cancellations. It adds: if evidence other than the policy is filed first, a copy of the policy must be filed within 60 days after it becomes available. A filing that meets § 981.105(a) is "timely filed"; one that does not is "untimely filed" (28 TAC § 15.2).

Worked Examples

• Policy issued after inception: A policy is effective July 1 but issued July 25. The later date is July 25. Counting 60 days (6 days left in July + 31 in August + 23 in September), the deadline is September 23.
• Policy issued before inception: A renewal is issued November 15 and effective January 1. The later date is January 1. Counting 60 days (30 more days in January + 28 in February + 2 in March, in a non-leap year), the deadline is March 2.

Changes After Filing (TIC § 981.105(b))

The agent must also promptly file each substitute certificate, cover note, or confirmation, each endorsement, and a memorandum explaining the substance of the change compared with the original coverage.

When a Filing Counts

• A report is not deemed filed unless it is correctly completed on compliant forms (28 TAC § 15.8(a)).
• A correct policy filing is deemed filed on the day the Stamping Office posts it (§ 15.8(b)).
• SLTX warns that items returned for correction are not considered filed. An error left unresolved can put the policy on the late-filers report.

---

2. What to File: A "True and Correct Copy" (28 TAC § 15.106(b))

SLTX also uses a Non-Texas/Exempt Premium Allocation Form for premium allocated to locations outside Texas or the U.S., and an Exempt Commercial Purchaser form when the ECP exception is used.

---

3. How to File

SLTX accepts filings three ways:

1. Mail: Follow the SLTX policy checklist, complete the Policy List Form, and attach the policy documents. Mailed policies are audited for compliance on receipt, and a confirmation report lists items processed and any errors.
2. Online entry: Enter the required fields in SLTX's online filing system (branded SMART) after registering.
3. Fully automated file transfer: Agency systems transmit filings directly, for example through SLTX's SmartConnector.

SLTX closes each month's processing at 6:30 p.m. Central on the last day of the month. That monthly close drives stamping fee billing (Section 7.3).

---

4. Who Files

• The tax-responsible agent files. The filing duty belongs to the surplus lines agent responsible under TIC § 225.006 for filing, reporting, collecting, and paying the tax (TIC §§ 981.105(a), 981.213).
• Managing underwriters: When a surplus lines agent places a policy with a managing underwriter, the managing underwriter handles the tax and filing, unless a written agreement made at or before binding makes the surplus lines agent responsible (TIC § 225.006(b)-(c)).
• Multiple agents: When two or more agents each place part of the coverage for one insured, each agent files for its own portion and pays tax on it (34 TAC § 3.822(h)).
• No "courtesy filings": A surplus lines agent may not file with the Stamping Office a policy for a transaction in which it did not place the policy, and it may not shift its responsibilities to an unlicensed person (28 TAC § 15.102(d)). Filing another producer's placement under your license, often called a courtesy filing, is not legal in Texas.
• Filing vendors: An agent may contract with a third party to make its filings but remains responsible for their timeliness and accuracy and for any fees and penalties (§ 15.102(e)).
• Keep the file ready: The agent must keep the contract file at its place of business and promptly submit it to the Stamping Office on request (§ 15.8(c)).

---

5. The Home-State Trigger

Chapter 981 and the filing duty apply when Texas is the insured's home state (TIC § 981.003; 28 TAC § 15.1). For a business, the home state is the principal place of business, defined in 28 TAC § 15.3 as the place from which officers direct, control, and coordinate the business, generally its headquarters. For an individual, it is the state where the individual resides for the greatest number of days in the calendar year. Section 8.2 covers the NRRA rules and exempt premium. A policy for a Texas-home-state insured is filed with SLTX even when it covers locations in other states.