In 2015, the Texas Legislature authorized two depopulation programs to provide policyholders more options in the private market. Check out these 7 facts about the Assumption Reinsurance program.

1. Not every agent will have policies selected. Participating insurers identify policies for offers. Some agents may have multiple policies selected while others may not have any. Your agency would have been contacted with a notice of any offers last month.

2. Participation in depopulation is completely voluntary for agents and policyholders.

3. If you don’t want to participate, no action is required. Simply don’t enter into a contract with any of the participating companies. If you don’t approve offers on the TWIA depopulation website, all of your policies will remain with TWIA.

4. The agent period ends October 31.  Your agency can approve offers through the TWIA depopulation website until then. On December 1, your policyholders will be notified of any offers your agency approves. Any offers on which you have taken no action will not be sent to your policyholders and those policies will remain with TWIA.

5. The policyholder can opt out. Even if you approve an offer, policyholders can opt out from December 1, 2016 until May 31, 2017.

6. Policyholders can return to TWIA. TWIA’s general eligibility requirements, including WPI-8s, will still apply. Although participating insurers may not require WPI-8s, TWIA recommends policyholders continue to get WPI-8s on qualifying repairs to avoid potential eligibility issues. If a policyholder returns to TWIA, they will be written as new business.

7. Additional information is available online. A number of resources are available to assist you with depopulation:

• TWIA.org – includes a dedicated Depopulation for Agents site, updated depopulation FAQs, and an Agent and Policyholders Communications packet to assist with conversations with policyholders about depopulation.
•  Learning Management System – contains job aids and a webinar recording about the Assumption program.
• Agent Services is always available to help. If you have any questions during this process, you may contact Agent Services at agentservices@twia.org.
• You also have the opportunity to provide feedback about the depopulation process by taking this Agent Depopulation survey.

*Important Note: If you plan to sell your book of business, please communicate to the new agent about any depopulation offers your policies may have.