Insurers writing
property coverage in Maryland have until Sept. 17 to respond to a call
for data on homeowners and commercial property insurance in selected
coastal ZIP Codes.
A
bulletin from the Maryland Insurance Administration provides
instructions and formats insurers are to follow when reporting whether
individual policies in those ZIP Codes are subject to eligibility or
underwriting restrictions, or mandatory windstorm deductibles. The
bulletin specifies that the information is to be reported for most types
of homeowners policies as well as any policy that covers commercial real
or personal property, including businessowners policies.
The information requested in the data call goes beyond the data elements
captured by AAIS statistical plans, so AAIS will not be able to fulfill
this mandate on behalf of its affiliates.
A new Illinois
law will allow the state's insurance director to set the maximum
limit companies can offer for reinsured mine subsidence coverage
provided through the Illinois Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund. This
replaces a maximum limit of $200,000 per building previously established
by statute.
No changes are needed to AAIS forms as a result of
this action, since the last revision of AAIS's Illinois mine subsidence
endorsements removed the preset limit and indicated that the limit
should be entered on the declarations.
A
bulletin from the North Carolina Department of Insurance explains
recent changes that take effect Oct. 1, 2007 under that state's "right
to mediate" program.
Under a law enacted
in 2006, residential property insureds must be notified of their right
to request mediation of a disputed claim arising out of a disaster. The
latest changes clarify the criteria for activating the program following
a disaster, and establish the minimum dollar amount that must be under
dispute for an insured to be automatically entitled to mediation. (The
insurer and the insured can mutually agree to mediate smaller disputes.)
Kansas is the latest state to issue requirements
that rate and form filings be submitted using "SERFF," the System
for Electronic Rate and Form Filing. Kansas gives companies more than a
year to comply, however; its mandate does not take effect until Jan. 1,
2009.
To date, the following jurisdictions have implemented electronic requirements that have taken effect
sometime between Jan. 1, 2007 and Jan. 1, 2008: Alabama, Delaware,
District of Columbia, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and
Utah.
AAIS is a licensed
third-party provider of SERFF filings with EFT capability, and can submit custom filings of
company forms and manuals, whether or not they are based on AAIS
programs. For information, contact
compliance@AAISonline.com.
