Agents Win Round in Texas Courts Over Insurer’s Claim of ‘Trade Secrets’

A group of agents recently won a round in a Texas court in their fight to have documents that an insurance company has claimed were trade secrets unsealed and made available to the public. Travis County District Judge Margaret Cooper turned down American National Property & Casualty Company’s (ANPAC) bid to keep its Agent Profile System from being disclosed.

Cooper denied ANPAC’s motion for a protective order on Feb. 1, and ordered key documents released. According to Austin attorney Joe K. Longley, who represents the agents, the disputed documents, describing ANPAC’s creation, use and yearly adjustments of agent profile scores, were at issue in a case brought by former agents alleging that the profile score results in “agent red-lining.”

In a news release, Longley stated that ANPAC uses the profile score as a “report card” on agent performance by grading each agent and agency on a one-thousand point scale by assigning varying points to ten separate criteria.

The attorney said the profile score was used by ANPAC to restrict agents’ binding authority and to limit agents to selling only to their existing customer base during specific periods of time — which ANPAC describes as “no new business” status. The former agents allege that this practice breaches their agent agreement; discriminates against both the agent and prospective customers, and violates various Texas anti-discrimination and unfair insurance practice laws.

Six cases involving seven former agents are on file in Travis County, Texas. All have been assigned to Judge Cooper with the first scheduled to go to a jury trial July 31, 2006.

ANPAC is a Missouri-based property and casualty company owned by American National Insurance Company of Galveston, Texas.

For a copy of the court’s Order or for more information contact:

Amy Weappa, amy@joelongley.com, or Joe K. Longley, joe@joelongley.com, (800) 792-4444, or visit the Web site, www.joelongley.com.

Topics Carriers Texas Agencies