As part of its filing action to implement the latest
extension of the federal terrorism reinsurance program, AAIS recently
initiated a countrywide filing of "war and military action" exclusions
in five commercial lines.
These filings are, in effect, a reinstatement of
these exclusions, which had previously been incorporated in exclusions
for "non-certified" acts of terrorism. The non-certified acts exclusions
have been withdrawn since the federal government has eliminated the
distinction between foreign and domestic terrorism in determining
whether an event is to be certified as an act of terrorism.
The recently filed war
and military action exclusions have a proposed effective date of
Sept. 1, 2008. Subsequent filings in other lines may have
later effective dates.
AAIS recently filed revised
endorsements excluding coverage for liability
arising from the violation of any federal,
state, or local law or regulation restricting
the transmission of messages. The exclusions apply to, but are not limited to,
violations of the Telephone Consumer Protect Act of 1991 and the
"CAN-SPAM" Act of 2003.
The revised exclusions, filed under the AAIS
Artisans, Businessowners, Commercial Liability, and Commercial Umbrella
programs, have a proposed effective
date of Nov. 1, 2008.
Admitted insurers in New Mexico that wrote more than
$3 million in homeowners premium in 2007 have until April 30, 2008 to
respond to a homeowners
"premium guide data call" issued by the New
Mexico Public Regulation Commission. Companies and groups that wrote
less than $3 million in homeowners premium are invited but not required
to participate.
The commission provides a
spreadsheet for carriers
to calculate premiums they would charge applicants for various risks and
coverages under owner-occupied, renters, and condominium insurance.
There are spaces still available for the AAIS Main Event
conference, April 20-22 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. This meeting is an
executive conference devoted to product-related issues of strategic
importance to property/casualty insurance companies.
Experts in insurance and related fields will speak at the conference, including:
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W. Michael Cox, chief economist of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas;
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Robert Healy, a senior vice president
with ABS Consulting;
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Josh Greenbaum, an attorney with Cozen O'Connor;
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Jeff Kucera, a consulting actuary with EMB
America; and
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Robert Parisi, a senior vice president
with Marsh USA.
The program includes a panel discussion featuring
these individuals:
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George Dale, former insurance
commissioner of Mississippi;
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Darin Kath, president and CEO of Jewelers Mutual Ins. Co., Neenah, Wisc.;
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Robert Restrepo, chairman, president, and
CEO of State Auto Ins. Cos., Columbus, Ohio; and
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Robert Wadsworth, chairman and CEO of
Preferred Mutual Ins. Co., New Berlin, N.Y.
AAIS Chairman
James Sullivan, president and CEO of Co-Operative Ins. Cos.,
Middlebury, Vt., will moderate the panel.
Also, attendees can select from among four roundtable
discussions led by AAIS staff experts:
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Personal Lines, moderated by Susan Luecke,
AAIS assistant vice president of personal lines;
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Commercial Lines, moderated by Tony Leist,
AAIS assistant vice president of commercial lines;
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Farm and Agriculture, moderated by Sherry Taylor,
AAIS manager of farm and agribusiness; and
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Executive, moderated by Paul Baiocchi,
AAIS president.
Other AAIS staff participants will include:
For a detailed description of the meeting and
to register,
To reserve a room at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club,
Insurers that write liability coverage are invited
to participate in a special AAIS research study regarding the frequency
and severity of claims for personal injury, such as libel, slander, and
violation of privacy.
In particular, carriers are asked to respond to a
voluntary call for personal injury claims data from 2002 through 2006.
Information and instructions are available in a Microsoft Word
document, and a
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
is provided for responding to the data call.
The study seeks to determine how the frequency and
severity of personal injury claims have been affected by:
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The growing use of e-mail, blogs, "gripe sites,"
networking sites, picture/video phones, and other forms of
electronic communication; and
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The growing incidence of "cyberbullying" and
other offensive behaviors associated with these communications.
All carriers that write personal injury coverage can
participate, whether they are AAIS members or not. Companies that
provide data will receive a report with the aggregate results, plus
analysis.
If you have questions about the study, contact Greg
Jaynes, chief actuary, at
gregj@AAISonline.com, or Larry
Thill, manager of data management, at
larryt@AAISonline.com.
