The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) regulates insurers and other companies that conduct insurance business in Texas, and assists Texas-based insurance consumers. TDI was founded in 1876 as the Department of Insurance, Statistics and History. The agency is responsible of enforcing the Texas Insurance Code; to regulate the insurance business, protect consumers, ensure fair competition among companies, and foster the stability of insurance market. In addition to administering the Texas workers' compensation system according to the Texas Labor Code, performing the duties of the State Fire Marshal's Office, and providing administrative support to the Office of Injured Employee Counsel. The agency is headquartered at the William P. Hobby State Office Building at 333 Guadalupe Street in Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

.It has around 1,400 employees statewide and a $110 million annual budget. The Commissioner of Insurance serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the department.

History

1876-1907

On August 21, 1876, the state legislature passed a law to establish the Texas Insurance Department as the first agency for insurance supervision in the state and the authorization of the Board of Insurance Commissioners went effective on April 18. At first the agency worked under the State Comptroller of Public Accounts, one year later the operations were folded into working under the Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics, and History under the Department of Insurance, Statistics and History. List of Commissioners of Insurance, Statistics, and History from 1876-1907:

1907-1927

The state's legislature of 1907 separated the insurance department from the other departments and included the operations of banking regulation, and the commissioner's title changed to Commissioner of Insurance and Banking, served a 2-year term. In 1913 the State Insurance Commission was introduced. The first Commissioner of Insurance and Bank was Thomas B. Love and was succeeded by William E. Hawkins.

1927-1957

In 1927 the Board of Insurance Commissioners was re-established to include three members appointed by the governor for a six-year term.

1957-1995

In 1957, the Board of Insurance Commissioners was abolished and replaced by the State Board of Insurance, consisted of three members appointed by the governor but serving a six-year term. The board determined policy and rates and authorized rules, while the commissioner was responsible for administrative operations and was appointed by the board. The primary functions of the agency included licensing domestic and out-of-state insurance companies and regular monitoring of its practices and rates.

1995-1999

In early nineties the agency witnessed significant changes started with 145 orders issued in 1991 following state's legislature, the changes included various revisions of the laws and targeted reforms in the Medicare supplement insurance and rating practices. By 1994, the three-member board was abolished and replaced with the Department of Insurance headed by one commissioner appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate, some of the duties of the department were deported to other state agencies; the State Office of Administrative Hearings took over hearings, the Comptroller's Offices over tax operations, and the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission handled the compensation data of workers.

1999-Present

On September 1, 2005, the state's 79th Legislature took effect transferring the operations of the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission to the Texas Department of Insurance and creating a separate division.

Commissioner of Insurance

The Texas Commissioner of Insurance serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the Department of Insurance and charged with executing all laws relating to the insurance business and overseeing all companies conducting business in the state. Cassie Brown was appointed to serve as Texas insurance commissioner by Governor

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 ...

in September 2021. Brown previously served as the commissioner of Workers' Compensation.

Fraud Unit

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Fraud Unit is the state

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

agency responsible for enforcing laws relating to fraudulent insurance acts In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, insurance fraud is the second most costly

white-collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a ...

next to

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...

. TDI Fraud Unit criminal investigators work on a variety of cases; for example, claimant fraud, workers' compensation fraud,

insurer fraud Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due. According to the ...

, life settlement fraud, and

mortgage fraud Mortgage fraud refers to an intentional misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission of information relied upon by an underwriter or lender to fund, purchase, or insure a loan secured by real property. Criminal offenses may be prosecuted in eith ...

. TDI Fraud Unit criminal investigators are licensed state of Texas

peace officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, prose ...

s, have full state police powers (armed, make arrests, and conduct investigations into violation of state laws), and have statewide jurisdiction. Fraud Unit criminal investigators specialize in financial crime and regularly conduct joint investigations with city, county, other state (DPS, Attorney General's Office), and federal law enforcement (

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

, IRS-CID,

United States Postal Inspection Service The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), or the Postal Inspectors, is the law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service. It supports and protects the U.S. Postal Service, its employees, infrastructure, and customers by enf ...

, US Government OIGs, etc.), and other government agencies. Once a TDI Fraud Unit criminal investigator has completed a criminal investigation, the case is referred to a County, District and/or U.S. Attorney in order to seek indictment and prosecution. The TDI Fraud Unit employs criminal investigators, prosecutors, and crime analysts.