Specialty Insurance License

§ 4055 of the Texas Insurance Code authorizes the issuance of specialty insurance licenses to people and businesses whose primary purpose is to provide goods and services in a finance or retail business, but who also offer insurance products in conjunction with the goods and services they sell. Specialty licenses are available for travel agencies, retail businesses that offer credit insurance, rental car companies, telecommunications companies, and self-service storage facilities.

Specialty insurance licenses are designed to be issued to the businesses selling travel, telecommunications, credit, rental car or self-service storage facility insurance, rather than the individual employees who conduct the transaction. The business owner, whether an individual, corporation or partnership, is the specialty license holder. For example, instead of obtaining individual Limited Lines credit licenses for 100 employees, the business entity could obtain a single credit specialty license.

Training

A specialty license holder must have employees attend training before the employees can sell insurance. The materials for the training program must be provided by an insurance company. Insurance companies are required to submit an outline of the training program for approval to:

Licensing Division, MC 107-1A

Texas Department of Insurance
P.O. Box 149104
Austin, TX 78714-9104

The training program must be approved by TDI, and must include information on:

• The different insurance products the license holder can sell. For example, a travel agent (an employee of a licensed travel agency) would need training on trip cancellation insurance, as well as every other insurance product offered by the agency.
• How to inform a customer that purchasing the insurance products is not required to complete the retail transaction. For example, the purchase of trip cancellation insurance is not required to purchase a vacation package.
• Disclosures that must be included in brochures available at the sales office. These disclosures must:
• • summarize the terms of the insurance offered, including the identity of the insurer.
  • explain that the insurance products offered may duplicate coverage the customer already has through another policy.
  • explain that the purchase of the insurance products offered is not required to complete the retail transaction, unless there is another state or federal law requiring it.
  • describe how to file a claim.
  • give any additional information on the price, benefits, exclusions, conditions, or other limitations of the insurance products offered.

Alternatives for Limited Lines Licensing

Limited Lines Agents may sell credit and travel insurance if properly appointed by an insurance company. However, if that licensee is working for a business that holds a specialty license, the individual Limited Lines license is not required. Issuance of a specialty license to a business does not prohibit an employee from obtaining an individual Limited Lines license.

How to Apply

If you wish to apply for a specialty insurance license, please complete and submit an Application for a Specialty Insurance License. The required fees and attachments must be included with your application. You may apply for more than one license authority on the same application. A $50 license fee is required for each authority. Companies and franchisees of that company are required to submit separate applications. For example, the EZ Mover Company, Inc. is required to have a specialty license. Brown, Inc. doing business as Brown´s EZ Mover Company, a franchisee of EZ Mover, Inc., is also required to have a specialty license.

There is no exam for a specialty insurance license.

If a specialty license holder has additional office locations where insurance sales will be conducted, the licensee must submit a Licensing Division Tradestyle Location form for each additional office location and pay the $50.00 fee to register each location.

To find the specialty license application form, click here.

Rules

The Texas Administrative Code contains rules relating to Specialty Licenses. Go to the top of this page, Popular Links, and select Insurance Rules (TAC). The rule is in Part I, Chapter 19, Subchapter T.

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