Insurance Regulatory & Transactions

Since the Firm’s founding in 1951, our Insurance Regulatory practice has set us apart from the typical insurance defense law firm. Both then and now, our Insurance Regulatory lawyers are one of the most experienced insurance industry practice groups in Texas.

Members of our team have been counsel for insurers in hundreds of transactions, and represented insurers and insurance-industry associations in regulatory matters before many state insurance departments. This wide-ranging experience gives clients the assurance that we combine in-depth industry knowledge with a practical understanding of legislative and regulatory processes to protect and advance their interests.

Notably, Thompson Coe was heavily involved in successfully proposing, drafting, and advocating for recent legislation to amend the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act, Texas Insurance Code Chapter 542, as related to catastrophic storm litigation. Such legislation has effectively reigned in much of the abusive litigation in Texas from property claims arising from hail storms, and more recently Hurricane Harvey, that substantially hampered the insurance industry over the last 20 years.

Thompson Coe insurance regulatory services are comprehensive and are provided by experienced insurance industry lawyers. Because of our depth and breadth of experience, and our tradition of representation of the insurance industry, we are able to provide effective representation in an efficient manner for the benefit of our clients. Our relationships with regulators and our firm’s reputation often facilitate access to the decision-makers to help resolve our clients’ concerns. We help our clients with compliance issues in dealing with the numerous statutes and regulations which impact them, and represent our clients in hearings and in disputes with state regulators in responding to claims, complaints and inquiries. If regulators proceed with administrative actions against our clients, we provide full defense through trial and appeal.

We have substantial experience in both property and casualty and life and health matters, and we provide assistance to all types of insurance entities, including insurance companies, brokers, agents, reinsurers, risk retention groups, risk purchasing groups, premium finance companies, HMOs, self-insureds, and insurance industry trade associations. Our clients range from publicly traded insurance companies to family owned insurance agencies. We also work with businesses outside of the insurance industry that have or want insurance subsidiaries or have other insurance-related issues.

Our insurance regulatory services include:

Formations, admissions, and dissolutions of insurance companies
Licensing of agents, premium finance companies, third party administrators, managing general agencies, surplus lines agents, and other types of entities
Product evaluation and form filing
Assistance with financial examinations and market conduct examinations
Holding company transactions
Reinsurance agreements
Insolvency and guaranty fund issues
Subpoenas received from Insurance Departments and offices of Attorneys General
Redomestication issues
Excess and surplus lines insurers
Risk retention groups and risk purchasing groups
Contested case hearings
Enforcement and compliance matters
Captive insurers
Rate hearings

Thompson Coe handles business and other transactional services at both the insurance company and insurance agent level, whether it be formations of new entities, mergers and acquisitions of companies, acquisitions of blocks of business, reorganizations or the like.

We prepare reinsurance agreements, general agency agreements, agency agreements, portfolio transfer agreements, employment agreements, and all other types of contracts needed by insurance companies, agents, or other insurance related entities. Our knowledge and experience with insurance matters gives our attorneys the abilities to spot potential future issues that could appear on the horizon and allow our clients to plan for, rather than react to, potentially impactful events.