The News requested rate filings and supporting documentation for the three major homeowners insurance companies in Texas – State Farm Lloyds Co., Allstate and Farmers. The insurance department released only parts of Allstate's and Farmers' filings that had not been marked "confidential" by the companies; it released all of State Farm's filings, none of which had been marked "confidential."

At issue is how much insurance companies can use trade-secrets exemptions in Texas' open-records laws to keep information from the public. The requested documents show mathematical formulas and other information the companies use as a model to determine what to charge customers.

Farmers argued that release of the documents, provided to the insurance department as agency officials sought to determine whether insurance rates were proper, would cause irreparable financial harm by making "valuable trade secrets" available to competitors.