AAIS has initiated a filing of a
comprehensive revision of its Homeowners forms and endorsements in most
states. Seven revised "booklet" forms are being filed, along with 80 countrywide
endorsements and scores of state-specific endorsements, most of them
with a proposed effective date of April 1, 2007.
(Due to regulatory conditions, state-specific
versions of the booklet forms will be filed in Pennsylvania and
Virginia. Also, insurers using AAIS forms in North Carolina will
continue to use the forms introduced last year under the jurisdiction of
the North Carolina Rate Bureau.)
The 2006 revision refines many policy provisions
while retaining the overall structure
and breadth of standard homeowners programs.
Among other things, AAIS continues to maintain a "Basic" perils form in
addition to the other six base forms that are standard in the line.
Also, AAIS continues to provide exclusions for lead liability and
pollution liability not found in other countrywide programs available to
insurers.
Among the changes in the 2006 revision are new
or revised incidental property coverages for association deductibles,
property in rental units, and refrigerated property. Liability
changes address coverage for incidental business activities for an
insured under age 21 and coverage for injury or damage arising from the
use of certain battery-powered vehicles. Details on these coverages can
be found in a press
release.
With the 2006 revision, the newly-revised Homeowners
booklet forms will also be used as the base forms for the AAIS
Mobile-Homeowners Program. Terms needed to use the forms to
insure mobile homes will be added by a mandatory endorsement. AAIS will
continue to maintain its separate Mobile-Homeowners Program, however,
with rating information that reflects loss experience of manufactured
homes.
For more information on affiliating with AAIS for
use of its Homeowners or Mobile-Homeowners programs, contact Rick Maka,
director of marketing, at
rickm@AAISonline.com.
To date, more than 80 companies have accessed the
"RiskMeter.com" risk mapping service or the "Residential" property
valuation service available through AAISdirect during the latest
trial period. Access to the two services is being offered free of charge
during the trial period to all insurers that use the AAISdirect Internet
service, no matter which AAIS programs they use.
RiskMeter,
a service of CDS Business Mapping, Boston, Mass., provides instantaneous
access to more than 30 categories of geographic information related to
hazards at a location. The information provided specifies a location's
distance from coastlines, fault lines, and flood zones, as well as its
exposure to hail, tornadoes, wildfires, crime, and other hazards.
The
Residential
valuation service, developed by e2Value, Inc., Stamford, Conn., provides
systematic valuation procedures for a wide range of residential
property, including high value homes, modular and kit homes, condos and
co-ops, alterations and additions, and more.
Companies using AAISdirect have the option of
offering their agents access to the Residential valuation service.
Instructions for providing agent access were sent to all AAISdirect
users by e-mail last week. For questions about providing agent access,
contact Pat Peters, director of member relations, at
patp@AAISonline.com.
For information on getting a license for use of
AAISdirect, contact Rick Maka, director of marketing, at
rickm@AAISonline.com.
AAIS has begun a countrywide filing of updated
Terrorism Losses Manual Supplements, which include rules and rating
information for both "certified" and "non-certified" terrorism losses.
The updated rules provide instructions for use of
revised terrorism endorsements filed in May and discussed in a previous
Advisory. Both the revised rules and
rating information reflect the elimination of commercial crime and
farmowners multi-peril insurance from the federal terrorism reinsurance
program, but the terrorism rating procedures and rating information have
not been revised otherwise.
Later in 2006, AAIS will file new terrorism rating
information that incorporates loss costs developed using catastrophe
modeling techniques.
AAIS will hold a meeting of its inland
marine advisory committee on June 28 in suburban Chicago.
The 7-member panel has been formed to discuss issues, trends,
and emerging coverage needs in inland marine insurance, and to provide
input for AAIS staff
specialists to consider as they revise AAIS inland marine
programs. Members of the committee are representatives of insurers
affiliated with AAIS for one or more of its inland marine programs.
This is the fourth such committee reconstituted by
AAIS in recent years. There is one committee each for personal and farm lines, and a third
was recently created to focus on reviewing the AAIS
Artisans Program.
In May, AAIS affiliates received an electronic
copy of the latest update to the AAIS Factbook, a reference guide
that addresses questions frequently raised by new affiliates about the
implementation of AAIS programs, as well as questions concerning the
ongoing use of those programs.
The Factbook provides a comprehensive list of
AAIS programs and services, including support services for customizing,
pricing, filing, and automating AAIS-based product lines.
In addition to providing information about AAIS, the
Factbook explains how AAIS affiliates can maintain up-to-date
contact information and modify their line and/or state affiliations.
For information regarding the AAIS Factbook,
contact Pat Peters, director of member relations, at
patp@AAISonline.com.
