AAIS DEVELOPS NEW HOMEOWNERS
MANUAL IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS

AAIS Homeowners affiliates that use AAISdirect will soon have access to new automated Manual Implementation Tools developed to help companies adopt the latest revision to the program.

Starting in mid-November, AAIS will release two new online tools to facilitate the rating of policies under the revised AAIS Homeowners Program:

• A Homeowners Rating Worksheet, developed using Microsoft Excel, which incorporates countrywide manual rules, formulas, and factors to automate premium calculations derived from data input by users; and

• Homeowners Rating Examples demonstrating how the worksheets operate using hypothetical cases.

In addition, the new Manual Implementation Tools will expand on the existing Homeowners rating information data sets provided in Excel and XML format. In addition to the existing state-specific data sets for basic Homeowners rating information, AAIS will also provide state-specific data sets for optional coverage loss costs, rating factors, and territorial definitions.

AAIS Homeowners affiliates should watch upcoming bulletins for the release dates of these new tools.

New role for Nieman

The new Manual Implementation Tools arise from an initiative led by Janice Nieman, a longtime AAIS staff member who is now serving as director of technical product support. Janice discusses her latest role at AAIS and the new Homeowners tools in an audio file available on www.AAISonline.com.

FILINGS SUBMITTED TO COMPLY WITH
SOUTH CAROLINA MITIGATION RULES

AAIS has submitted filings to comply with a new South Carolina law described in a previous Advisory.

Under the law, property insurers must introduce rating factors for various building features that impact a property’s propensity for damage by wind. AAIS has filed both the rating factors and the corresponding policyholder notices that will be required for all new and renewal policies as of January 1, 2008.

Separate bulletins will be released on Nov. 9, 2007 to distribute copies of the proposed rules, rating factors, and policyholder notices to AAIS affiliates for the following lines: Artisans, Businessowners, Commercial Output, Commercial Properties, Dwelling Properties, Homeowners, and Mobile-Homeowners. The law does not apply to farm, agribusiness, or manufacturing risks.

LATEST HOMEOWNERS AUDIO FILE
DISCUSSES VEHICLE EXPOSURES

In the fourth of a series of audio files on refinements to the AAIS Homeowners forms, Susan Luecke describes how new policy provisions address vehicle-related exposures.

In a series of short interviews being posted over recent and coming weeks, Sue describes how AAIS has developed or modified provisions related to water loss, personal injury, business activities, motorized vehicles, equipment breakdown, and new household arrangements.

Sue is AAIS's assistant vice president of personal lines and the principal developer of the revised Homeowners forms filed countrywide and now approved in 32 states.

INLAND MARINE GUIDE TORNADO TABLE 
REISSUED WITH UPDATED NOAA DATA

The Tornado Table provided in the Radio and Television Towers section of the AAIS Inland Marine Guide is being updated based on new federal data. Using data collected by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration/National Climatic Data Center, the updated Tornado Table shows the annual average number of tornadoes per 10,000 square miles for individual states.

Some states show an overall increase in the reported number of tornadoes compared to the previous edition of the table. That increase is attributed to stepped-up observation of tornadoes by enlarged populations, and do not necessarily indicate an increase in the frequency of tornadoes.

The updated Tornado Table will be released as an attachment to a bulletin issued Friday, Nov. 2. Guide users are instructed to refer to the updated table when executing one of the suggested rating steps for radio and television towers.

MISSISSIPPI MAKES HURRICANE KATRINA
ARBITRATION REQUIREMENTS PERMANENT

The Mississippi Department of Insurance has instituted a permanent requirement regarding arbitration of disputed claims arising from Hurricane Katrina.

In March 2007, the department issued a regulation requiring insurers to notify policyholders that they could request neutral, non-binding arbitration of any disputed Katrina claim where the difference between the parties' positions was $5,000 or greater. The regulation was extended in July, and has now been made permanent.

The final regulation includes a sample letter carriers can use to notify policyholders that they can seek arbitration.

PROGRAM PLANNING UNDERWAY
FOR 2008 AAIS 'MAIN EVENT'

AAIS is now evaluating topics for its 2008 Main Event conference, April 20-22 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

This executive conference focuses on product-related issues of strategic importance to property/casualty insurers. To that end, AAIS is seeking speakers on trends in science, technology, law, economics, and other fields that will impact property and liability risk and, consequently, the design and development of P/C insurance products.

There are two ways to submit ideas for topics:

• Use the AAISalert online submission form. This web page 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 property/casualty insurance.

• Contact Joseph Harrington, AAIS director of corporate communications, at joeh@AAISonline.com, or by calling 800-564-AAIS.