|
AAIS has filed rating information in New Jersey for
liability coverage related to leaks or spills of fuel
oil.
Data for the filing was gathered in a special data
call that collected information on more than one million policies from
carriers that account for 19% of the New Jersey homeowners market.
Along with the rating information, AAIS resubmitted Homeowners and Mobile-Homeowners
endorsements excluding coverage for bodily injury, property damage, and
personal injury arising from fuel oil spills or leaks. Those exclusions
were developed in response to a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that
standard pollution exclusions did not apply to leaks, discharges, or
spills unless they were done intentionally. (New Jersey has
many homes with fuel oil storage tanks.)
The exclusions allow for a "buyback" of
coverage for accidental leaks or spills at specified locations, and the
newly filed rating information can be used to price the coverage.
The North Carolina Rate Bureau (NCRB) recently
announced rules revisions that provide homeowners rate reductions for
related private structures when windstorm coverage is excluded under
policies written in certain coastal territories. (An NCRB circular letter
announcing the change says the new rates apply to "Specific
Structures" and "Structures Rented to Others On-Premises.")
The NCRB has filing authority over homeowners
insurance in North Carolina, and AAIS rules and rating information are
required to be equivalent to those developed by the NCRB. The AAIS
Homeowners manual for North Carolina will be modified to reflect the
latest changes.
Homeowners carriers in North Carolina are permitted to
exclude windstorm coverage in certain territories if an applicant has
secured coverage from the state's windstorm pool and/or submitted a
written rejection of windstorm coverage. Until now, however, there was no
rating information to reflect the exclusion of windstorm coverage for
related private structures.
With the exception of the Agricultural Output Program
(AgOP), AAIS forms that provide property coverage meet a new Nebraska standard set for actual cash value
(ACV) loss
settlement.
In a notice
to insurers, the Nebraska Department of Insurance directs carriers to
settle losses on a replacement cost basis unless their ACV provisions expressly permit deduction for
depreciation.
The department's notice comes
in the wake of a Nebraska Supreme court ruling that prohibited an insurer
from taking a deduction for depreciation on a loss because its policy did not
explicitly allow for one. The court also interpreted the policy's ACV
settlement provision to apply to the value of the entire building where
the loss occurred, rather than limiting it to the part that was damaged.
AAIS is making a special filing for the AgOP regarding
ACV loss settlement terms and is reviewing the court case to determine if changes are
needed with respect to settlement for partial losses.
AAIS staff members will be at present at these
upcoming insurance meetings:
-
Wisconsin Association of Mutual Insurance
Companies, Sept. 11-13, Appleton, Wis.
-
Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals
(AICP), Sept. 18-20, New Orleans, La.
-
National Association of Mutual Insurance
Companies, Oct. 2-5, Phoenix, Ariz. (Booth 111)
-
CPCU Society Annual Meeting and Conferment, Oct.
22-24, Atlanta, Ga. (Booth 310)
-
Agribusiness Conference, Oct. 24-25, Des Moines,
Iowa
To arrange contact with AAIS staff at any of these
events, contact Rick Maka, director of marketing, at rickm@AAISonline.com
or by calling 800/564-AAIS.
Oct. 1, 2005 is the deadline for submitting
advertising for the Fall 2005 edition of AAIS's Viewpoint magazine.
This award-winning publication goes to 1,500 readers, most of them senior
executives of property/casualty companies.
For information on advertising in Viewpoint,
contact Joseph Harrington, director of corporate communications, at joeh@AAISonline.com.
|
