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TX

Telecom Compliance Reference — Updated September 2025

Mini-TCPA State — High Risk

Calling Hours

9:00 AM9:00 PM

Min Penalty

$500

Registration

Required

Insurance Telemarketing Compliance in Texas

Insurance agency telemarketing and lead generation compliance in Texas

Guide last reviewed: September 2025

Mini-TCPA State — Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ch. 302 & Ch. 304

Texas imposes stricter consent and calling requirements than federal TCPA.Insurance companies operating here face $500 per-violation penalties.

Texas Insurance Overview

Insurance telemarketing in Texas navigates multiple regulatory regimes: Texas Ch. 302/304, federal TCPA, CMS marketing rules (for Medicare/ACA), and the Texas Department of Insurance. The § 302.053(b) exemption provides registration relief for licensed agents selling insurance — but it is narrower than many assume. It does not exempt from calling hours, DNC compliance, ADAD restrictions, or DTPA liability. Rising Eagle proved that health insurance robocalling is the highest-enforcement-risk sector in Texas. Post-SB 140, the DTPA private right of action adds another enforcement vector. Licensed agents with compliant manual calling operations face the lowest risk. Automated outreach requires iron-clad consent documentation and full regulatory compliance across all overlapping regimes.

Penalty/Violation

$500

Willful

$1,500

Calling Hours

9:00 AM9:00 PM

Stricter than federal

Private Suit

Allowed

Compliance Checklist

Licensed TX insurance agents: § 302.053(b) exempts you from Ch. 302 registration ONLY for transactions governed by the Texas Insurance Code — selling insurance products within your licensed scope,If selling non-insurance products or making calls outside your licensed scope, Ch. 302 registration required,Comply with Texas calling hours: 9:00 AM–9:00 PM weekdays/Saturday, 12:00 noon–9:00 PM Sunday,Scrub against Texas No-Call List AND federal NDNC before every campaign,Medicare/Medicaid: follow CMS marketing rules IN ADDITION to Texas telemarketing requirements during AEP/OEP,Prior consent required for ADAD/robocall campaigns — insurance license does not exempt from ADAD restrictions,Post-SB 140: marketing texts about insurance products are telephone solicitations if sent without prior consent,Do not misrepresent plan benefits, coverage, or costs — DTPA + Department of Insurance dual exposure,FCC one-to-one consent rule (Jan 2025): purchased health insurance leads with bundled consent are legally unusable for automated outreach,Honor opt-out requests immediately,Final expense and life insurance cold calling via manual dial to non-DNC numbers remains viable with proper compliance

What Gets Companies Sued

Top Texas violations for insurance companies: (1) Using ADADs/robocalls to pitch Medicare or health insurance leads without consent — Rising Eagle ($244M judgment) was health insurance robocalls; (2) Purchasing health insurance leads from aggregators where consent was bundled for multiple companies — invalid under Cordoba and FCC one-to-one rule; (3) Assuming insurance license exempts from ALL telemarketing rules (it only exempts from registration for in-scope transactions); (4) Violating Medicare/CMS marketing rules simultaneously with Texas telemarketing rules during enrollment periods; (5) Sunday morning calls before the noon restriction.

Special Exemptions

Texas Insurance Code licensees are exempt from Ch. 302 registration when the solicited transaction is governed by the Insurance Code (§ 302.053(b)). This is a scope-limited exemption: it covers licensed agents selling regulated insurance products. The exemption does NOT cover automated calling — ADAD/robocall restrictions apply regardless of insurance license status. Existing policyholders may fall under the existing debt/contract exemption for calls related to active policies (§ 301.051(b)).

Key State Rules

Mini-TCPAYes
RegistrationRequired
Class ActionsAllowed

Insurance Enforcement in Texas

Rising Eagle Capital Group LLC (John Caldwell Spiller II & Jakob Mears)

$244,658,640

Mar 2023

robocalls without consentdnc violationscaller id spoofingprerecorded without consent

The largest robocall enforcement judgment in Texas history. Rising Eagle made approximately 1 billion spoofed robocalls during the first four months of 2019 pitching short-term health insurance plans. Multi-state AG coalition (TX, AR, IN, MI, MO, NC, ND, OH) secured $244.6M judgment. Defendants permanently banned from robocalling, telemarketing, and working with any company that does either. FCC also proposed a record $225 million fine for the same conduct. Judgment largely suspended due to inability to pay — but the permanent operational bans are the real enforcement outcome.

Rising Eagle Capital Group LLC / JSquared Telecom LLC

$225,000,000

Mar 2021

caller id spoofingrobocalls without consent

FCC proposed a then-record $225 million fine against Texas-based Rising Eagle for spoofing approximately 1 billion robocalls. This is the parallel federal action to the multi-state AG case. The FCC action targeted caller ID spoofing specifically under the Truth in Caller ID Act. Combined with the $244.6M state AG judgment, Rising Eagle faces nearly $470M in combined federal and state liability — illustrating that Texas-based robocall operations face enforcement from every direction.

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This is a compliance reference tool, not legal advice. Data compiled from public statutes, LegiScan, CourtListener, state AG offices, and AI-assisted analysis. Verify all information with qualified counsel before relying on it. Full terms & data sources →