Texas sets new record for October surplus lines premium

The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) recorded $702.3mn in surplus lines premium in October, a new record in the Lone Star state for that month and up 11.6 percent over October 2020, bringing the year to date total premium to $7.59bn.

The $702.3mn of surplus lines premium was the highest recorded October and the 14th largest premium in SLTX’s 33-year history.

The $7.59bn of premium for the first ten months of the year is up 14.7 percent over the same period of 2020.

SLTX noted that several lines in October demonstrated significant increases when compared to October 2020.

The most notable growth in dollar terms came from excess/umbrella, which rose $17.9mn, or 14.6 percent. Commercial general liability was up $14.1mn (15.8 percent) while contingency liability (new and historical codes) was up $10.6mn (233.6 percent).

October 2021 included a 4.5 percent decrease in overall transactions filed, to 82,258, over the same period in 2020. This resulted in a year to date decrease of 0.3 percent.

The month also saw an 8.3 percent decrease in policies filed, to 53,408. The decrease in the first ten months of the year was 3.0 percent.

In October 2021, 56.0 percent of premium reported was attributed to renewal policies, accounting for 37.6 percent of items reported.

Some 38.8 percent of premium and 27.3 percent of items reported was related to new business, while 5.2 percent of premium and 35.1 percent of items was a result of non-policy transactions such as endorsements, cancellations, audits and instalments.