Sept. 30 is the deadline for liability insurers to
register with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in
preparation for mandatory "Section 111" reporting of medical claim
payments to Medicare participants.
In light of that deadline, AAIS has arranged for a
web seminar on the topic for AAIS affiliated companies. The web seminar
will be held Wed., Sept. 9, at 1 p.m. Central time (2 p.m. Eastern).
The seminar, entitled "An Introduction to
Medicare Mandatory Reporting," will be presented by Mark Nawrath,
director of business development for Perr & Knight, a Los Angeles-based
business services firm that specializes in insurance compliance matters.
This seminar is an update of a web seminar Perr &
Knight conducted for AAIS companies in May 2009; some material is
repeated, but some new information will also be provided. To register
for the seminar, go to
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/538073795
For background, Section 111 of the 2007 Medicare,
Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act requires liability insurers and other
entities to report all payments made for bodily injury and "med pay"
claims to persons enrolled in Medicare.
AAIS programs affected by the mandate are:
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Personal Lines: Boatowners, Dwelling
Properties (Landlord's Package only), Homeowners, Mobile-Homeowners,
Personal & Premises Liability, and Personal Umbrella
-
Commercial Lines: Artisans,
Businessowners, Commercial Liability, and Commercial Umbrella
-
Farm & Ag Lines: Agricultural General
Liability, Farmowners, and Farm Umbrella
For more information on Section 111 reporting and
deadlines for compliance, go to the
website of the
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Robert Guevara, AAIS vice president of inland
marine, presented an overview of builders' risk insurance at the 2009
CPCU Society Annual Meeting and Seminars, held Aug. 28-Sept.1 in Denver,
Col.
In his presentation, Guevara explained the
distinctions between policy forms covering scheduled jobsites, those
providing blanket coverage for unscheduled jobsites, and those providing
coverage for renovation and rehabilitation projects.
He also explained AAIS's new distinction between
"additional construction expenses" and "additional soft costs," as well
as the "green" coverages introduced as endorsement options in July 2009.
Those features are found in the Builders' Risk section of the AAIS Inland
Marine Guide to policy forms, rating procedures, and other
information for the traditionally nonfiled classes of inland marine
insurance.
For information on affiliating with AAIS for use of
the Inland Marine Guide, contact Rick Maka, AAIS director of marketing,
at rickm@AAISonline.com, or by
calling 800-564-AAIS, ext. 222.
AAIS is researching how to strengthen its
intentional acts and intentional injury exclusions in the wake of a
recent
Ohio
Supreme Court ruling that potentially expands the exposure of insurers.
In the case, the court ruled that homeowners and
umbrella carriers were required to provide defense and indemnity
coverage to the parents of a 17-year-old who repeatedly stabbed a
neighbor. The parents were successfully sued for damages arising from
negligent supervision, negligent entrustment, and negligent infliction
of emotional distress.
The court reasoned that, while the stabbing was
intentional for the youth, it was accidental for the parents. Legal
observers, however, question whether it would be practically possible to
defend named insureds in such cases without having to defend the
underlying tort. (In addition to being criminally charged with murder
and felonious assault, the youth was sued in civil court for battery.)
AAIS is consulting with legal counsel
to see if and how it is possible to have intentional acts/injury exclusions
apply to injury and damages arising out of the supervision of a
perpetrator. Affected affiliates will be notified by bulletin if and
when filing action is taken.
Insurers have until Sept. 28, 2009, to comment on a
regulation proposed in
Maryland to regulate the
manner in which insurers can impose temporary moratoriums on selling
property insurance.
Among other things, the proposal would require
insurers to file "moratorium protocols" with the Maryland Insurance
Administration (MIA) identifying the "triggers" for implementing and
lifting a moratorium. Temporary moratoriums issued without a protocol
being filed will be considered invalid.
Under the proposal, moratoriums could not suspend
the writing of all of the lines of a carrier, and must be limited to areas of
Maryland impacted by a government-declared disaster, or by a National
Weather Service watch or advisory.
Moratoriums could not apply to property insurance
bound prior to the implementation of a moratorium, auto liability
insurance on newly-purchased vehicles, policies where the risk of loss
is unrelated to a disaster, or to changes made to existing policies
during a renewal period.
Comments can be made to Alexis E. Gibson, MIA
regulations coordinator, at
agibson@mdinsurance.state.md.us
As of Sept. 12, 2009, insurance rate and form
filings in Maine must be submitted using "SERFF," the System for
Electronic Rate and Form Filing developed by the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Maine is the 21st jurisdiction to mandate the
use of SERFF; the others are: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, the
District of Columbia, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey,
Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and
West Virginia.
Maine also mandates the use of electronic funds
transfer (EFT) through SERFF for payment of filing fees; it is the
10th state to do so.
AAIS is an authorized third-party SERFF filer
and can submit your Georgia filings for any property/casualty
program, whether based on AAIS programs or other forms and manuals.
For information on SERFF filings and other services offered through
the
AAIScompliance program, contact
compliance@AAISonline.com.
Under an arrangement with the Reinsurance
Association of America (RAA), staff from AAIS member companies can
attend reinsurance education programs at RAA member rates.
The remaining 2009
programs are:
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Re Claims: Reinsurance Claims Management, September 24-25; and
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Re Finance: The ABCs of Financial Reporting & Analysis for
Property/Casualty Insurers and Reinsurers, October 7-8.
Both of
these events are scheduled to be held in New York City.
For information about each program, or to register, go to
www.reinsurance.org/seminars. When registering, choose "member" as
your "registrant type" to get the tuition discount.
