AAIS has been corresponding with the Congressional
Research Service (CRS), as the CRS researches questions related to the
possible expiration or revision of the federal terrorism reinsurance
backstop.
In response to CRS inquiries, Deborah Summerlin,
AAIS vice president of insurance lines has explained how standardized
terrorism exclusions address conventional attacks separately from those
employing nuclear, biological, chemical, or radioactive means, and how
certain exclusions make exceptions for loss caused by fire. Summerlin
has also explained how terrorism exclusions differ from other standard
exclusions for loss arising from nuclear energy or contamination by a
virus or bacteria.
Committees of the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives have held hearings where widespread support has been
voiced for modifying and extending the federal role in insuring for
terrorism loss. To date, however, no bill has been introduced.
AAIS recently issued bulletins with important
announcements related to windstorm coverage in Florida and North
Carolina.
A bulletin issued for all lines in Florida discusses
features of the recent insurance legislation in that state and provides
advance notice of AAIS filing action regarding quarterly and semi-annual
premium payments, wind and hail exclusions, and personal property
coverage exclusions or limitations. The bulletin also addresses
situations that require independent filing actions by companies, such as
multi-policy discounts and mandatory reductions in deductibles for
windstorm mitigation features.
In North Carolina, AAIS has received approval, effective July first, for
revised premium credits under its Businessowners Program for business
personal property when coverage for windstorm and hail is excluded. In
North Carolina, carriers can exclude coverage for
loss caused by windstorm or hail if the
property is eligible for coverage under the state's insurance
underwriting association. AAIS has determined that that the percentage
of business personal property loss costs arising from windstorm or hail
is less than previously assumed.
For information on
affiliating with AAIS for any of its lines of insurance programs,
contact Rick Maka, director of marketing, at
rickm@AAISonline.com, or by
calling 800/564-AAIS.
AAIS has received positive evaluations
from attendees of its "Main Event" meeting, an updated version of its
former annual conference, held last week in Charleston, S.C.
The conference has been repositioned to
be a premier industry meeting devoted to product-related issues of
strategic importance to property/casualty insurance companies.
For reports on some of the Main Event presentations,
click here.
Here is a sampling of comments
submitted by attendees via the conference evaluation forms:
-
The meeting was
very well done, as usual, and very worthwhile.
-
The speakers did
an excellent job.
-
The topics and
the presenters [and] panelists were particularly good.
-
It was very well
organized. . . . Thank you, AAIS, for a job well done.
-
It was very well
done. You all did a great job.
-
You [provide] an
excellent service and your staff is great.
-
Another great
time! Quality event!
-
The format was again very effective.
. . Keep up the good work.
The 2008 AAIS Main
Event will be held April 20-22 at the
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
For information, contact Joseph
Harrington, director of corporate communications, at
joeh@AAISonline.com, or by
calling 800/564-AAIS.
AAIS forms have been chosen as the standards used to
teach the inland marine segment of a new insurance designation:
Certified Construction Insurance Specialist (CCIS).
Forms found in the Builders Risk, Contractors
Equipment, and Installation Floater sections of the AAIS Inland
Marine Guide will be covered in part one of the CCIS curriculum in
the Contractors
& Builders Conferences scheduled in five locations. The Guide
is the leading industry resource for forms, rating procedures,
underwriting guidelines, and other information for the nonfiled classes
of inland marine insurance.
The inland marine segment will be taught by Marjorie
Segale, vice president of the Insurance Skills Center, Huntington Beach,
Calif., the sponsor of the conferences. AAIS has been a co-sponsor of
the center's Agribusiness Conference, and AAIS materials are used in the
curriculum for the center's Agribusiness and Farm Insurance Specialist
designation.
For more information, go to
www.insuranceskillscenter.com, or call 800-375-8704.
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 meetings and publications
For more information, contact Joseph Harrington,
AAIS director of corporate communications, at joeh@AAISonline.com.
