The Child Support Division of the Office of the Attorney General operates an Insurance Reporting and Intercept Program to enforce and collect child support.
Insurance Reporting
The Office of the Attorney General, in consultation with the Texas Department of Insurance and representatives of the insurance industry of this state, is required under state law to operate an insurance reporting program. Insurers are required to match the names of claimants with the names of obligors/claimants who owe past-due child support. When an obligor/claimant is identified, the insurer will receive either a notice of a child support lien or an income withholding order from the Office of the Attorney General to secure payment of the amount of past-due support.
Texas Administrative Code Section 55.601 and Texas Family Code Section 231.015 provide detailed information as to which economic benefits or claims must be matched and reported to the Office of the Attorney General and which economic benefits or claims do not require reporting. Even if an insurer is not required to report these economic benefits or claims, the Office of the Attorney General may provide insurers with a notice of lien.
Data Matching Options
A data match must be conducted at the time or after a claim is filed. It is important the data match occurs before the claim has been paid. The insurer may conduct an automated data match by using the following options:
- E-Mail Contact: [email protected]
- E-Mail Contact: [email protected]
- Insurance Services Office (ISO) Data Match Process
- E-Mail Contact: [email protected]
In addition to the options above, life insurance companies may use this website — The Debt Inquiry Service — for matching purposes.
Liability
An insurer that provides required information or acts in good faith to comply with applicable procedures is not liable for those acts. However, an insurer who fails to comply with a child support lien, including the failure to remit funds, may be liable to the Office of the Attorney General. See Tex. Fam. Code § 157.324 and 1 Tex. Admin. Code § 55.605.
Remittance of Funds
Texas Administrative Code Section 55.605 provides insurers with the following payment options:
- upon the receipt of a signed agreement between the Office of the Attorney General and the claimant/claimant’s attorney, the insurer must remit funds agreed to be paid to satisfy the child support lien to:
Texas State Disbursement Unit
Insurance Intercept
P.O. Box 245996
San Antonio, TX 78224-5996
The funds should:
- be made payable to the Office of the Attorney General
- identify the name of the claimant/obligor, and
- identify the child support case number as shown on the notice of lien.
- if the claimant is represented by an attorney and the insurer has not received a copy of any signed agreement between the attorney and the Office of the Attorney General, the insurer must:
- remit all funds directly to the claimant’s attorney,
- include the Office of the Attorney General as a co-payee, and
- provide the Office of the Attorney General with written notice of the data and amount of payment sent to the claimant’s attorney.
- if the claimant has no attorney and the insurer has not received a copy of any signed agreement between the claimant and the Office of the Attorney General, the insurer must:
- remit all funds to:
Texas State Disbursement Unit
Insurance Intercept
P.O. Box 245996
San Antonio, TX 78224-5996
- made payable to the Office of the Attorney General,
- identify the name of the claimant/obligor, and
- identify the child support case number as shown on the notice of lien.
Resources
Texas Family Code Chapter 157, Subchapter G
Texas Family Code Section 231.015
Texas Administrative Code Chapter 55, Subsection M
Questions/Inquiries
For any questions/inquiries, please contact:
Office of the Attorney General
Child Support Division – Special Collections Unit
P.O. Box 12027, MC 590
Austin, TX 78711-2027
Phone: (800) 591-7615
Fax: (512) 433-4691
Questions? Contact Us!
E-Mail: [email protected]