AAIS will offer audio commentary to users of the
AAISdirect Internet service
starting this Friday, Dec. 1, with the first of a weekly series of "podcasts."
Initially, the podcasts will be posted on Fridays
and briefly describe the bulletins issued by AAIS for the week. In 2-3
minutes, these commentaries will provide AAISdirect users with an
overview of product-related developments for the week, and indicate
which bulletins need immediate attention.
The podcasts will be provided as mp3 files which
can run on most computers with Internet access. To run them, users of
AAISdirect can simply click on an icon on the AAISdirect home
page.
AAIS affiliates can sign up now for a web-based demonstration of the
AAISdirect
service at 1 p.m. Central time on Thursday, Nov. 30.
The event will include a demonstration of Commercial
and Residential property valuation applications developed by e2Value,
Inc. To register for the demonstration, 
Rick Maka, AAIS director
of marketing, will
lead off the event by demonstrating how AAISdirect users can quickly locate forms,
manuals, bulletins, and other AAIS resources through the service.
Debbie Wagner, e2Value's vice president of sales, will then demonstrate
how the "Residential" and "Commercial"
valuation applications can help company staff quickly and
systematically establish building property values and determine
appropriate levels of insurance-to-value.
Companies that do not use AAISdirect can still sign up for a free trial
of the service, including access to certain valuation applications and the "Risk
Meter" risk mapping software, through the end of
2006.
To start your trial immediately, print and sign the
trial
agreement and fax it to 630-681-8356. If you have questions, contact Rick Maka, director of
marketing, at rickm@AAISonline.com
or by calling 800/564-AAIS.
A web seminar describing the AAIS Agricultural
Output Program (AgOP) is scheduled for 1 p.m. Central time on Tuesday,
Dec. 5. The seminar is open to staff in companies considering an
affiliation with AAIS for use of the
AgOP. The presentation will also be useful to staff of AgOP affiliates who may not be
personally familiar with the program. To register,
Joseph Harrington, AAIS director of corporate
communications, will describe the features and benefits of the AgOP, the
first standardized program developed to provide property coverage for
large, diversified agribusinesses.
Deborah Summerlin, AAIS vice president of insurance
lines and the principal developer of the AgOP, will be on hand to
provide additional comments and respond to questions.
The AgOP provides broad property and inland marine
coverage through a single policy form, and utilizes a flexible rating
procedure that allows carriers to rate a property risk as a single
exposure rather than as the sum of disparate exposures. The program is
currently used by one of the nation's largest farm insurers and several
agricultural specialty writers.
AAIS has filed a separate "Virus or Bacteria" exclusion for its
Agricultural Output Program (AgOP).
A mandatory countrywide exclusion, announced in the
Nov. 1 Advisory, clarifies that
there is no first-party property coverage
under AAIS forms for loss, cost, or expense caused by, resulting from,
or relating to any virus, bacterium or other microorganism that causes
or is capable of causing disease, illness, or physical distress.
The exclusion developed specifically for the AgOP provides an exception
(allowing coverage) for income coverage for "Public Health Shutdown."
Public health shutdown is a supplemental income coverage under the AgOP
and can be provided for an additional premium charge.
Admitted insurers that write personal lines residential property
coverage in New Jersey are required to submit an annual survey report of
premium charges to the state's Department of Banking and Insurance by
Jan. 31, 2007. The directive, issued in a recent
bulletin,
applies to "every insurer authorized to provide and sell personal
homeowners, tenant and/or condominium coverage in New Jersey."
The bulletin notes that the Coverage A dwelling amount used for the
sample charges is being raised from $150,000 in previous surveys to
$225,000, a figure that better reflects insured values in the state.
A
template for responding to the survey is available on the
department's website.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has informed licensed
carriers that they will be assessed to satisfy a 2005 deficit in the
High Risk Account of the Florida Citizens Property Insurance
Corporation, the state's property insurer of last resort.
In a
memorandum dated Nov. 20, the office "strongly recommends" that
insurers planning to recoup their assessments through surcharges on
policyholders file their recoupment by Dec. 1, 2006. Recoupment filings
must include proof of payment to Citizens.
Instructions and filing forms for recoupment assessments are available
on the office's
website.
AAIS invites property/casualty professionals to
submit their observations and concerns regarding emerging exposures
through our new
AAISalert web page.
The AAISalert online submission form asks users to describe
new exposures they are concerned about, indicate how they address the
exposure or plan to address it, and how it is likely to affect AAIS
programs. One need not be a
member of AAIS to participate.
Ideas generated through AAISalert may be
incorporated into AAIS's program revisions, and may also become topics
for the AAIS Main
Event, an executive-level conference devoted to product-related
issues of strategic importance to property/casualty insurance companies.
The 2007 Main Event is scheduled for April 22-24 in Charleston, S.C.
For more information, contact Joseph Harrington,
AAIS director of corporate communications, at joeh@AAISonline.com.
AAIS has decided on the venue for the closing
reception and dinner for the "AAIS Main Event," an updated successor to
AAIS's annual conference, scheduled for April 22-24, 2007 in Charleston,
S.C.
The closing event will be held at
The Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon,
a beautifully restored 18th century structure which served as a post
office, customs house, and prison over the years. Stede Bonnet, "The
Gentleman Pirate," was imprisoned in the building's cellar, as well as
several prominent South Carolina Patriots during the American
Revolution.
The full name of the enhanced meeting--"The AAIS
Main Event:
Where insurance
leaders come together to explore product issues, discuss solutions,
exchange ideas"--signifies the importance of this
event
as a venue for AAIS customers and other insurance professionals to network with each other and share
ideas. The historic Mills House
Hotel will serve as the principal conference location.
Among other things, the program content and format
will be designed to strengthen the connection between AAIS and its
member companies, prospective new members, and business partners. The
program will focus on product-related issues of strategic
importance to company CEOs and heads of operational units. AAIS also
plans to vary the format with concurrent sessions and small group
discussions to provide more opportunity for exchanging ideas.
For more information, contact Joseph Harrington,
director of corporate communications at
joeh@AAISonline.com or by
calling 800-564-AAIS.
