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WHEATON, Ill., Feb. 11, 2004--Insurers will no longer be on their own to file inland marine policy forms in states that have filing requirements for traditionally "nonfiled" classes. The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) has begun filing forms provided in its Inland Marine Guide on behalf of insurers that use the Guide.
AAIS is a national insurance advisory organization and statistical agent that develops policy forms and rating information used by more than 600 property/casualty insurers. The Inland Marine Guide is a comprehensive resource for policy forms, rating procedures, and underwriting guidelines for inland marine classes traditionally not subject to filing requirements.
To date, Guide forms have been filed in seven jurisdictions, and will eventually be filed in 16 others that do not exempt inland marine insurance from filing requirements. The filings carry an effective date of July 1, 2004.
The filing involves forms in the following classes: Bailee Customers' Floater, Builders' Risk, Contractors' Equipment, Electronic Data Processing, Fine Arts Floater, Fine Arts Dealers, Installation Floater, Miscellaneous Floaters, Miscellaneous Forms, Motor Truck Cargo Legal Liability, Radio and Television Towers and Equipment, Riggers' Liability, Transit, and Warehouse Legal Liability.
While AAIS still supports nonfiled status for these classes, the filing action has been undertaken in response to requests from Guide users who have been required to file forms on their own in many states.
"AAIS has always supported the nonfiled status of the Guide classes, and still does," says Robert Guevara, AAIS assistant vice president for inland marine. Several factors have led AAIS to undertake the filing action, he adds:
Nearly half of jurisdictions now have some filing requirements for
"nonfiled" classes.
Regulators in those states are urging AAIS to file the Guide forms so they do not have to review them for each company filing.
Companies that use the Guide have requested that AAIS file the forms where necessary so they don't have to make independent filings.
To meet the needs of its customers while maintaining its support for nonfiled status, AAIS is limiting its filing action in three ways:
Only forms will be filed, except in two states that also require AAIS to make advisory rate filings.
Forms will be filed only in the jurisdictions where expressly required.
Only forms for those classes required to be filed by a state will be filed. Thus, not all forms will be filed in all jurisdictions with inland marine filing requirements.
"The Inland Marine Guide has long been the industry's leading resource for the nonfiled classes, and this filing action makes it the most complete resource available for the 'nonfiled' classes," says Joyce Tignino, vice president of marketing and industry relations.
For information on affiliating with AAIS for use of the Guide, contact Tignino at
joycet@AAISonline.com, or by calling 800/564-AAIS.
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