Texas Department of Insurance

¶ … Texas Department of Insurance illustrates why and when the Texas Department of Insurance was formed and how much it has accomplished since the time it was established. This paper highlights the number of people employed by the TDI, their annual budget and their board of governors.

The Texas Department Of Insurance

The prime purpose of the Texas Department of Insurance is to efficiently manage files on all the insurance carriers in Texas. These files are categorized by their respective types and region and are provided to other school districts upon request. The Texas Department of Insurance is divided in such a way that each group governs each insurance type. "For example, property and casualty, life and health, and workers' compensation are each separate departments with teams of experts capable of answering inquiries and complaints about each of those specific types of insurance" (Texas Comptroller Of Public Accounts, Purchase School District Insurance Through Cooperative Agreements). The exact date of formation of the Texas Department of Insurance is unknown. However, it is believed that the respective department dates all the way back to the time when Mark Twain published his award winning novel, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," i.e. 1876.

During the same year of its formation and through the constitution of Texas the official office of the Insurance Commissioner was established. The prime purpose of the Texas Department of Insurance was to properly regulate the insurance business in Texas. Before the formation of the Texas Department of Insurance either other states or other countries managed many of the insurance businesses in Texas. According to statistics, "out of 61 companies doing business in Texas in 1874, only four were domestic" (Texas Department of Insurance History). By 1876, the Texas insurance corporations were contrived by the special act in the various state legislative sessions. As a result many domestic corporations went into business and competed with the much stronger corporations. After a while, these corporations went bankrupt. "When the 15th Legislature met in 1876, it took advantage of the authorization given to it by the 1876 constitution and created the Department of Insurance, Statistics and History" (Texas Department of Insurance History).

The Texas Department of Insurance was launched to fulfill the following agency mission,

TDI supports a fair, efficient and productive industry dedicated to the long-term concept of insurance and its contributions to society.

TDI works for the availability of quality insurance products for all Texans at reasonable prices and under reasonable terms and strives to protect consumers' insurance assets.

TDI enforces solvency standards and promotes competition in the industry while protecting consumers from fraud, misrepresentation and unfair practices.

TDI educates the public about insurance so that Texans can make informed choices, and TDI insists that the industry be responsive to its customers.

TDI works to make Texas a place where industry will want to do business.

TDI works to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Texas from fire and fire-related hazards (Texas Department Of Insurance, Fiscal Years 2003-2007 Workforce Plan).

There is vast number of employees working for the Texas Department of Insurance. According to a report issued by TDI, "there are around 1020 full time employees working for the Texas Department of Insurance with an operating budget of $53.0 million" (Texas Department Of Insurance, Fiscal Years 2003-2007 Workforce Plan). Many of these employees work in Austin while about 172 staff members work in the field. Around 57% of all TDI employees are female while the rest are male. The functional agency organizational chart of the TDI consists of the following department and personnel,

Commissioner of Insurance, Jose Montemayor

Internal Audit, Dennis Veit

Policy Affairs, Mike Geeslin

Executive Services, Lavern Chase

Government Relation, David Durden

General Counsel and Chief Clerk, Gene Jarmon

Public Information Office, Robert Black

Administrative Operations, Chief of Staff, Albert Betts

Consumer Protection, Audery Selden

Financial, Betty Patterson

Insurance Fraud, Dennis Pompa

Legal and Compliance, Sara Waitt

Life, Health and Licensing, Kim Stokes

Property and Casualty, CH Mah

State Fire Marshal's Office, G. Mike Davis (Texas Department Of Insurance 2003 Annual Report).

The Texas Department of Insurance comprises of nine Board of Governors. Their names are as follows,

1. Gregory S. Baker

2. Colleen Cummings

3. Norma C. Essary

4. William A. Fink

5. Robert W. Grace

6. Ted Hosterman

7. Terry McGarrity

8. Alan W. Smith

9. Daniel E. Whitt (SLSOT Procedures Manual).

After searching for information on all of the departments, I consider the Texas Department of Insurance to be the most successful one. The TDI is a very well organized and developed corporation. TDI recognizes the significance of workforce planning and employs the analyses of its workforce to ensure the appropriateness of its decisions. It has always been these analyses which have been targeted in the past and have led to TDI's strategic planning. With time, the Texas Department of Insurance has simplified their pollicies in order to get maximum people and businesses to acquire insurance. According to a report, "New rules under consideration by the Texas Department of Insurance should make insurance coverage affordable for more Texas businesses and individuals. The proposed rules implement Senate Bills 10 and 541, which were passed during the last regular session of the Texas Legislature" (TDI Proposed Rules Make Health Insurance More Affordable). With time, the TDI has spread a number of its office all over the state of Texas. This greatly signifies the level of their success as compared to all the other agencies.