Advertising Workgroup Resource Page

Purpose | Members | Agendas and Meeting Notes | Statutory and Rule Requirements for Advertising | Advertising Compliance Workbook | Most Frequent Compliance Issues | TDI Compliance Conference | Interstate Compact | File an Insurance Complaint | Help Us Prevent Insurance Fraud

Purpose

The Advertising Workgroup was organized in August 2006 to discuss both the regulatory framework (i.e., statutes and rules) and processes under which the Texas Department of Insurance´s Advertising Unit conducts reviews of insurance-related advertisements. The Workgroup´s objectives are to make recommendations for any necessary changes to statutes or rules and to identify any "best practice" opportunities for improvement to the review process.

Members

The Advertising Workgroup meetings are open to the public. The following organizations have been specifically invited to participate:

• AARP
• American Insurance Association
• American Council of Life Insurers
• America´s Health Insurance Plans
• Consumers Union
• Gray Panthers
• The Office of Public Insurance Counsel
• Property Casualty Insurers Association of America
• Texas Association of Health Plans
• Texas Association of Health Underwriters
• Texas Association of Life and Health Insurers
• Texas Watch

Agendas and Meeting Notes

October 10, 2006 Agenda
October 10, Meeting Notes
September 26, 2006 Agenda
September 26, Meeting Notes
September 12, 2006 Agenda
September 12, 2006 Meeting Notes
August 15, 2006 Agenda
August 15, 2006 Meeting Notes

TDI Follow-up to Advertising Workgroup Discussions

View the Department's responses to input received from the Advertising Workgroup during late 2006 regarding several specific issues related to the review of advertisements.

Statutory and Rule Requirements for Advertising

Insurance advertising is defined, for the purposes of requirements relating to same, in 28 Texas Administrative Code, Part I (TAC), §21.102. All material that comes within the definition of an "advertisement" under that rule is subject to the requirements of Chapter 21, Subchapters A and B, TAC, and other relevant statutes and rules, as applicable.

TDI has jurisdiction to enforce compliance of all "advertisements" with those requirements.  Relatively few lines are required to be filed with TDI for review. Those products, and underlying statutory and/or rule requirements that they be filed, are as follows:

Medicare Supplements

§1652.156, Texas Insurance Code (TIC), and §3.3313(1), TAC. Must be filed at least 60 days prior to intended use.

Medicare HMOs

§11.603, TAC. Must be filed at least 45 days prior to intended use. (Note: Effective December 2000, HCFA (now Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS) issued a finding that the authority of state departments of insurance to regulate "Medicare Advantage" (formerly "Medicare + Choice") advertising was pre-empted by federal authority. However, this preemption does not apply to HMOs having "Medicare Cost" contracts (in Texas, this currently only includes Scott and White Health Plan).

Long Term Care Insurance

§3.3838, TAC. Must be filed at least 60 days prior to intended use.

Viatical/Life Settlements

§3.1707, TAC. Must be filed prior to use.

TDI´s Advertising Unit

The Advertising Unit is part of the Texas Department of Insurance´s Consumer Protection Program. Consumer Protection also handles consumer complaints, staffs the 1-800 Information Assistance call center, produces educational and informational publications, and coordinates the Speaker´s Bureau which conducts presentations for the public and the insurance industry.

Advertising Review Statistics

*FY2006 includes 9/1/2005 through 7/31/2006.

Advertising Compliance Workbook

The Advertising Unit has developed a "compliance workbook" that describes the procedures for filing an advertisement for review and contains guidelines regarding advertising requirements. The 2004 workbook can be accessed at http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/advtable.html.

Most Frequent Compliance Issues

(under construction)

TDI Compliance Conferences

TDI will host two Compliance Conferences, to be held October 30 - November 1 and December 4 and 5, in Austin. The first conference will include sessions for both the life and health and the property and casualty industry.  Advertising issues will be on the conference agenda. The second conference will focus on workers' compensation insurance.  See 2006 Compliance Conferences for more information.

Interstate Compact

The National Association of Insurance Commissioner´s (NAIC) Interstate Compact National Standards Working Group is developing national standards for the review of long-term care insurance advertising. The Working Group's recommendations will be forwarded to the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission, which will have authority to perform regulatory reviews on behalf of participating states regarding various products. The Commission plans to be operational by early 2007. More information can be obtained at http://www.insurancecompact.org/.

File an Insurance Complaint

Insurance Complaint Form

• English Online Form
• En Español En linea Forma | RTF Format | PDF Format
• Easy Print Form RTF Format | PDF Format

Help Us Prevent Insurance Fraud

Insurance Fraud Toll-Free Hotline - 1-888-327-8818

Online Fraud Reporting
Secure Transmission, Fast, Comprehensive, Easy Data Entry

• Online Fraud Reporting for Consumers
• Reporting for Insurance Companies

Comments

We welcome your comments or suggestions regarding the Advertising Workgroup. If you would like to be on our e-mail distribution list for Workgroup-related news (meeting agendas, etc.) or desire more information, please e-mail us at: Advertising@tdi.state.tx.us.

For more information contact: ConsumerProtection@tdi.state.tx.us