AAIS is filing new mandatory endorsements in Florida
that allow property insurers to provide coverage for loss due to
catastrophic ground cover collapse, as required under legislation
enacted in January. The endorsements carry a proposed effective date of
Dec. 1, 2007.
AAIS property programs already provide coverage for
sinkhole activity, defined in Florida statute as the collapse of a
structure due to the settlement or weakening of the ground it stands on
due to the effect of water.
In contrast, catastrophic ground cover collapse is
defined as geological activity that results in all of the
following: an abrupt collapse of a structure; a visible depression in
the ground; structural damage to the building and its foundation; and
government condemnation of the structure.
Given the requirement that those four conditions be
met, the coverage for catastrophic ground cover collapse may prove to be
narrow in scope. AAIS has raised concerns with Florida regulators,
however, that the new coverage requirement may expand insurer exposure
to earthquake losses.
The ground cover collapse filing follows approvals,
effective June 1, 2007, of new amendatory endorsements in Florida under
the AAIS Homeowners, Mobile-Homeowners, Dwelling Properties, and Farm
Properties programs. These endorsements implement changes regarding
limits that apply to sinkhole collapse losses, deadlines for payment of
claims, cancellation and non-renewal conditions, and other matters.
Also, new Homeowners manual rules have been filed in
Florida, with a required effective date of July 1. One new rule provides factors
for the calculation of quarterly and semi-annual premium payments
insurers are now required to offer. Other rules support new requirements
giving policyholders the option to reject coverage for windstorm and
hail loss, and to exclude coverage for the contents of insured
buildings.
Jeffrey B. Kusch,
president and CEO of Austin Mutual Ins. Co., Minneapolis, Minn., was
elected to the AAIS board of directors at the AAIS annual meeting held
in conjunction with its
"Main Event"
conference, April 22-24 in Charleston, S.C.
Kusch replaces Kenneth T. Stover, executive vice
president of Western National Insurance Group,
Edina, Minn., who served two years as AAIS chairman during his tenure as
a director.
The other members of the
board are:
-
James W. Sullivan, president and CEO,
Co-Operative Insurance Companies,
Middlebury, Vt., and chairman of AAIS;
-
Darin Kath, president and COO, Jewelers Mutual
Ins. Co., Neenah, Wis., and vice chairman of AAIS;
-
Roy R. Bubeck, president and CEO, Badger Mutual
Ins. Co., Milwaukee, Wis.,
-
Thomas E. Claude, vice president and secretary,
Pharmacists Mutual Ins.Co., Algona, Iowa;
-
Judy S. Jackson, president and CEO, NLC
Insurance Companies, Norwich, Conn.;
-
Jack M. Rader, COO and executive vice president,
Farmers Alliance Companies, McPherson, Kan.;
-
Thomas J. Rozema, vice president, underwriting,
Brotherhood Mutual Ins. Co., Fort Wayne, Ind.;
-
Christopher P. Taft, president and COO,
Preferred Mutual Ins. Co., New Berlin, N.Y.; and
-
Paul Baiocchi, president of AAIS.
The former AAIS
statistical department has been renamed the Data Management Department
to reflect the growing responsibilities of the unit.
Previously, the
statistical department's main roles were to help companies fulfill their
statistical reporting requirements, and to collect and organize data
to support the work of AAIS actuaries.
Today, the department also
utilizes a variety of information available from third parties,
including catastrophe modeling firms, to create a larger database of
information and help affiliated companies with risk selection.
The department reports to
David Linton, vice president of information services, and its dedicated
data management staff includes Larry Thill, manager, Trish Muffler, data
management specialist, and Joe VanDerWal, data quality analyst. Their
work is supplemented by AAIS actuarial and information technology
specialists.
June 1, 2007 is the effective date in most states
for the revised AAIS Personal Inland Marine
(PIM) Program and the new Farm Inland Marine (FIM) Program.
Current PIM affiliates who want to grant AAIS filing
authorization for both programs are urged to submit an election of
services form if they have not done so already. Companies that do not
grant AAIS filing authorization will have to take filing action on their
own to use elements of the programs.
For a copy of the election of services form, contact
Pat Peters, director of member relations, at
patp@AAISonline.com. There is
no additional cost to adding an affiliation for FIM.
For information on affiliating with AAIS for use of
its inland marine programs, contact Rick Maka, director of marketing, at
rickm@AAISonline.com, or by
calling 800-564-AAIS.
