DEBORAH SUMMERLIN SPEAKS BEFORE
FLORIDA PERSONAL LINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE 

On Tuesday, Deborah Summerlin, AAIS vice president of insurance lines, addressed members of a Florida advisory committee charged with developing policy language for providing personal residential property coverage. Summerlin briefed committee members on the AAIS Homeowners Program, including certain features of its forms and manuals that are specific to Florida.

A bill passed and signed into law by Gov. Jeb Bush states that consumers were inadequately insured when four hurricanes hit Florida in 2004 because of "the difficulty consumers encounter in trying to understand the complex nature of property insurance policies." 

In response, the committee is charged with developing policy language that "represents general industry standards . . . for comprehensive coverage," but companies will not be required to use the policy unless there is further action to that effect by the Florida legislature.

RHODE ISLAND ISSUES RESTRICTION ON USE 
OF PRIOR NON-STANDARD PLACEMENT 

A bulletin recently issued by the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation prohibits insurance carriers from placing insureds into non-standard tiers or companies solely because they were placed among non-standard risks in the past. The bulletin also prohibits use of prior carrier "type" as a criterion for discounts and surcharges.

Among other things, the bulletin states that, because of increased use of tiering by companies, "the line between non-standard and standard or preferred carriers has become much less clear. Therefore, whether a policy was previously written in a standard or non-standard company cannot be determined in an accurate and consistent manner."

The restrictions become effective Dec. 31, 2005.

CCH INSURANCE SERVICES
CREATES HURRICANE WEB PAGE 

CCH Insurance Services, the authorized vendor for AAIS policy forms, has created a Web page with tables listing and summarizing compliance information from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and other states related to Hurricane Katrina. The page provides links to state Web sites where applicable.

DC DEPARTMENT RELEASES
REPORT ON PRIVACY COMPLIANCE 

The District of Columbia's Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking is making available, upon request, findings of a national study on the privacy protection practices of more than 100 largest insurance groups in the U.S.

The multi-state study, conducted in conjunction with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, found the insurers studied to be generally in compliance with state and federal requirements concerning the safeguarding of personal financial information.

To obtain a copy of the preliminary report, contact Lily Qi, public information officer, DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, at lily.qi@dc.gov or by calling 202/442-7820.

AAIS REPRESENTATIVES TO BE AT
UPCOMING INDUSTRY MEETINGS

AAIS staff members will be at present at these upcoming insurance meetings:

• 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.