AAIS's revised terrorism endorsements and manual
supplements have been approved in nearly all states for most lines of
insurance affected by the latest extension of the federal terrorism
reinsurance program. (One state has yet to announce its approval of the
revised manual supplement; that is expected imminently.)
AAIS affiliates in affected lines received bulletins
last week with comprehensive lists of AAIS filing numbers, state filing
numbers, and effective dates, where applicable. All bulletins plus the
lists are available through the AAISdirect Internet service.
Insurers affiliated with AAIS for use of its
Commercial Properties Program
were issued a bulletin last week announcing that 41 states have approved
AAIS's newly expanded fire protection classifications, with a proposed
effective date of Sept. 1, 2008 in most states.
Since its introduction in the late 1970s, AAIS's
simplified fire protection classifications have allowed insurers to place a
commercial risk
in one of three classifications:
-
Protected, which refers
to buildings located within 1,000 feet of a
fire hydrant and within five road miles of a
responding fire department (AAIS personal
lines programs include other qualifying
criteria);
-
Partially Protected,
which refers to buildings located more than
1,000 feet from a fire hydrant but within
five road miles of a responding fire
department; and
-
Unprotected, which
refers to buildings that are not classified
as protected or partially protected.
With the latest revision recently filed,
the "Protected" classification is being replaced
with five separate tiers (Protected 1, Protected
2, and so on) that correspond to the distance of
a risk from a responding fire department (but
all still within five miles).
The changes now being filed continue to rely
upon readily available information, either
through the use of geographical information
systems, such as the Risk Meter service
available through AAISdirect, or through
standard application entries.
Maryland Gov. Martin
O'Malley recently signed a
bill into law that requires homeowners
insurers to offer sewer backup coverage.
Under the terms of the new law, carriers are
required to provide a notice in writing at the time of application and
renewal indicating that coverage is available for loss resulting from
water that backs up through sewers and drains, provided the loss is not
caused by the negligence of the insured.
The bill also specifies how carriers can comply when
processing applications or renewals over the telephone or the
Internet.
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.
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:
-
The growing use of e-mail, blogs, "gripe sites,"
networking sites, picture/video phones, and other forms of
electronic communication; and
-
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.
