Learn more about our structure and purpose
The Texas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association (“Association”) is a non-profit legal entity that provides limited protection for the life, health, and annuity policies owned by Texas residents if their member company is found to be insolvent and is ordered liquidated by a court.
Insolvency Involvement
When a court finds an member company to be insolvent and orders it liquidated, a receiver takes over the company under the court’s supervision and liquidates the assets and liabilities, except the task of administering the insurance policies is the responsibility of the Association. The Association then becomes one of the claimants against the estate of the insolvent insurance company to the extent of the payments and benefits it has provided to policyholders. As the assets of the insolvent company are liquidated, the Association may recover a portion of its costs to protect the policyholders. The Association’s Board of Directors determines the amount needed to service that company’s policies and sends an assessment, or bill, to the other member companies (the approximately 1,100 companies licensed in Texas to sell the types of policies protected by the Association).
Board of Directors
The Association and its Board of Directors operates as provided for in the Texas Insurance Code Chapter 463, the Association's Plan of Operations and Bylaws. The nine members of the Board of Directors are appointed by the Texas Commissioner of Insurance. Five of the directors are required to be officers or employees of member companies licensed in Texas, and three of these five must be from a company that is one of the top fifty premium writers in Texas. The remaining four must be “public” directors that are independent of the insurance industry. A director receives no compensation but is entitled to receive reimbursement of expenses related to Association activities. Each director must annually file a specific personal financial statement with the Texas Ethics Commission.
Meetings
There are regular quarterly meetings of the Board of Directors, plus special meetings as required. Meetings of the Board of Directors and its Committees are noticed and held in compliance with the Texas open Meetings Act.
Member Companies
By law, insurance companies and health maintenance organizations licensed in Texas to sell the types of insurance policies or contracts protected by the Association are members, with some exceptions. A few specific types of insurance companies are not members of the Association, and therefore, their policies are not protected by the Association. Examples of companies that are not members are charitable gift annuity companies, fraternal benefit societies, state pooling plans, and reciprocal exchanges.
Summary Document
All policies or contracts issued in Texas that are eligible for Association protection are required by law to have a summary document attached to them that includes the Association’s contact information, its purpose, and a summary of the coverage it provides. Below are PDF versions of the current summary document in English and Spanish.
Summary Document Notice for Member Companies (Approved 7-1-21)
Summary Document Notice for Member Companies (Approved 7-1-21) Español
Residency Requirements
The Association protects Texas resident policyholders of member companies, and, in some instances policyholders residing in other states. The guaranty association of the state where you live at the time a company is ordered liquidated will likely provide you with coverage unless the insurance company is not licensed in your state. If the company is not licensed in the state where you live at the time the liquidation is ordered, then the guaranty association of the state where the company is domiciled may provide you with coverage. For the contact information for another guaranty association, please go to the NOLHGA website and choose the ‘Contact Us’ menu and then choose the specific state guaranty association.
For more information about the Association, please review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of this website.
NOT AN INSURANCE COMPANY
The Association is not an insurance company that sells insurance policies and is only involved with insolvent member companies that are being liquidated. Please contact the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) at +1 (800) 252-3439 for questions about a company not being liquidated.