The latest version of AAIS's annual Inland Marine
Cause of Loss Report has been posted on the AAISdirect
Internet service, where it is available free of charge to AAIS inland
marine affiliates that use AAISdirect.
The report provides premium and loss data for nearly
50 filed and nonfiled classes of inland marine insurance. The data,
covering the years 2000-2004, includes the following:
-
Yearly written premium and paid losses for each
class, and the ratio of paid losses to written premium;
-
Yearly earned premium and incurred losses for
each class, and the ratio of incurred losses to earned premium; and
-
The amount and percentage of paid losses, along
with average loss severity, categorized by nine different causes of
loss.
Those causes of loss are fire, extended perils,
collision, burglary and robbery, theft and disappearance,
breakage/collapse/landslide, water damage and flood, marine perils, and
all other.
AAIS inland marine affiliates that do not use
AAISdirect can request a free copy of the report. AAIS affiliates
for lines other than inland marine can purchase a copy for $100;
companies not affiliated with AAIS can purchase a copy for $200.
To order a copy of the AAIS Inland Marine Cause
of Loss Report, or to sign up for AAISdirect service, contact
Rick Maka, director of marketing, at
rickm@AAISonline.com or by
calling 800-564-AAIS.
AAIS will be filing revisions to its Home-Based
Business (HBB) Coverage Part and Personal Umbrella Program to coincide
with recently filed revisions to AAIS Homeowners forms and endorsements.
Like the Homeowners filings, the HBB and Personal Umbrella filings will
have a proposed effective date of April 1, 2007.
Both the HBB and Personal Umbrella forms are
designed to be attached to or written over AAIS-based policies and,
thus, rely on the terms and conditions of underlying forms. The
revisions will make them compatible with the Homeowners forms revisions.
In addition, there will be change in the filing
status of the Personal Umbrella Program.
Previously, as a reflection of the company-specific
nature of umbrella coverage, AAIS Personal Umbrella forms were filed on
an advisory basis; companies were required to submit a reference filing
to adopt them in most jurisdictions. When the Personal Umbrella forms
and endorsements are revised, they will be filed in all states on behalf
of affiliated companies that have granted AAIS form filing
authorization.
Companies affiliated with AAIS for use of the
Personal Umbrella Program will be notified in January 2007 about how to
elect forms filing service for the line. Anyone interested in
affiliating with AAIS for use of its personal lines programs can contact
Rick Maka, director of marketing, at
rickm@AAISonline.com or by
calling 800/564-AAIS.
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner James Donelon has
issued a directive giving holders of property insurance policies up
until Aug. 30, 2007 to file suit against an insurer over an unresolved
claim from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Insureds will have until Sept. 25,
2007 to file suit over claims arising from Hurricane Rita, also in 2005.
Currently, Louisiana law only requires insurers to
give insureds one year after a loss to file a suit over an unresolved
claim.
Since the directive was limited to claims from two
events in the past, the directive does not appear to require any filing
action by AAIS. As it is, most AAIS forms used in Louisiana already have
a two-year "suit against us" provision. (As this Advisory was
posted and transmitted, the directive had not yet appeared on the
Louisiana insurance department website.)
A new Pennsylvania
law amends the state's Standard Fire Policy statute to allow
insurers to exclude losses arising from terrorism.
The law defines terrorism in a manner that follows
the definition in the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of
2002. Among other things, a terrorist act, to be excluded, must be
committed by person acting on behalf of a foreign person or interest.
However, the law also includes a section that, in
effect, allows carriers to use any other definition of "terrorism" that
is filed and approved by the Pennsylvania insurance commissioner. AAIS
is in contact with the department to determine if it would accept a
definition of terrorism that is broader than the one in TRIA, if filed
by AAIS.
AAIS will take appropriate filing action as soon as
a determination is reached. Affiliates will be informed of filing action
by bulletin.
To date, many agents and company staff members 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 in June. 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.
There has been a modification and extension of new
Georgia rules regarding the time period in which an insured can sue an
insurer over recovery of a claim. (The initial rules, which amend the
state's Standard Fire Policy requirements, were reported in the
March 8 and
March 22 AAIS Advisories.)
A new
proposed rule would shorten the time period for a policyholder to
file suit from four years, as originally proposed, to two years. Since
all current AAIS programs used in Georgia have a two-year "suit against
us" provision, there may be no additional filing action needed.
A new
emergency regulation extends the effective date of the proposed rule
to 120 days from June 20, 2006.
