3,000 Registered for Convention & Marriott Rooms Still Available

Registration for the annual convention has now reached 3,000, and hotel rooms are still available at the Marriott.

There is still a small quantity of hotel rooms remaining at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. Remember to register for the convention and book your hotel room as soon as possible to ensure your accommodations.

You can still register online at http://annual.napslo.org/ and choose the Register Online link along the left column. Here you will be able to register for the Convention and will be provided a hotel reservation link to reserve your hotel room.

You must be registered for the Convention to reserve a room and NAPSLO reserves the right to cancel any rooms registered under the NAPSLO hotel room block reserved by non-attendees.

Watch Live Now! State of the Insurance Industry: Examining the Current Regulatory and Oversight Structure

Click here to be directed to the link regarding the testimony of the State of the Insurance Industry: Examining the Current Regulatory and Oversight Structure. Then choose "watch the hearing live". You must have Real Player software to view this live web cast.

Witness Testimony

Panel 1

Honorable Steven M. Goldman , Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Mr. Travis B. Plunkett , Legislative Director, Consumer Federation of America

Mr. Alessandro Iuppa , Senior Vice President, Zurich North America, on behalf of the American Insurance Association

Mr. John L. Pearson , Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, The Baltimore Life Insurance Company, on behalf of the American Council of Life Insurers

Panel 2

Mr. George A. Steadman , President and Chief Operating Officer, Rutherfoord Inc., on behalf of the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers

Mr. Thomas Minkler , President, Clark-Mortenson Agency, Inc., on behalf of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America

Mr. Franklin Nutter , President, Reinsurance Association of America

Mr. Richard Bouhan , Executive Director, National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices

NAPSLO to testify before Senate Banking Committee

NAPSLO will testify on Tuesday, July 29 before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs as part of a hearing on “State of the Insurance Industry: Examining the Current Regulatory and Oversight Structure.”

Richard Bouhan, Executive Director, will be a part of a panel with George A. Steadman, President and Chief Operating Officer, Rutherfoord Inc., on behalf of the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers; Thomas Minkler, President, Clark-Mortenson Agency, Inc., on behalf of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America; and Franklin W. Nutter, President, Reinsurance Association of America.

Also testifying will be the Honorable Steven M. Goldman, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Travis B. Plunkett, Legislative Director, Consumer Federation of America; Alessandro Iuppa, Senior Vice President, Zurich North America, on behalf of the American Insurance Association; and L. John Pearson, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, The Baltimore Life Insurance Company, on behalf of the American Council of Life Insurers.

The Banking Committee is reviewing S. 929, the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Act of 2007 . While Tuesday’s testimony centered on the currently regulatory and oversight structure, NAPSLO has stated its support for S. 929 because it is aimed specifically at streamlining and reducing barriers in state regulation of surplus lines insurance and reinsurance. The bill would create a uniform system, while preserving the role of the state regulator. The House passed a similar version of the bill (HR 1065) in 2006.

Stamping Offices Report Drop in Premiums

Surplus lines premiums reported to the 14 U.S. stamping offices dropped by 7.6% in the first six months of 2008, according to statistics recently released by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas.

Overall premiums reported dropped from $12.307 billion in the first six months of 2007 to $11.373 billion in 2008, for a 7.6% decrease. The numbers of items processed also dropped, however not as much, going from 1,716,626 in the first six months of 2007 to 1,673,453 in 2008, or a 2.5% decrease.

Ten of the 14 states reported a decrease in premiums, lead by Montana at 34.1% and New York at 26%. Idaho, Arizona, Texas and Washington also reported double digit decreases while Florida, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah reported single digit decreases.

Oregon reported a 24.9% increase in premiums, Illinois a 12.6% increase and California and Pennsylvania reported single digit increases. While Pennsylvania saw a 9.5% increase in premiums, the number of items they processed increased by nearly 60%.

For all of 2007, the surplus lines stamping offices previously reported a fluctuation in business with an overall slight increase in premiums but a drop in number of items.

Remember to register for the 2008 Annual Convention!

Remember to register for the 2008 Annual Convention by July 25 to avoid the increase in registration costs. Fees are listed below.

Convention Fees

Delegate $795 ($895 after July 25)

Spouse $395 ($425 after July 25)

Spouse Programs $125 -150

You can still register online at http://annual.napslo.org and choose the Register Online link along the left column. Here you will be able to register for the Convention and will be provided a hotel reservation link to reserve your hotel room.

You must be registered for the Convention to reserve a room and NAPSLO reserves the right to cancel any rooms registered under the NAPSLO hotel room block reserved by non-attendees.

Washington drops non-resident surplus lines exam requirement

Under a "Rule Making Order" dated July 2, 2008, non-residents are no longer required to pass an examination to obtain a surplus lines license from the state of Washington. The new rule becomes effective on Aug. 2, 2008. Washington was one of the last states to continue to require an exam for non-resident surplus lines broker licensing.

According to the order the change was necessary to align the states requirements for holding a surplus lines brokers license with national standards.

NAPSLO meets with Illinois Commissioner on NRRA

As part of its efforts to get the NonAdmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) approved, NAPSLO recently met with the Illinois Insurance Commissioner, Michael T. McRaith, a member of the NAIC Surplus Lines Task Force.

NAPSLO, and representatives of the CIAB, met with Commissioner McRaith in late June to review the current status of NRRA and also concerns expressed by state insurance commissioners. The House version of NRRA (HR 1065) passed the House of Representatives in 2007 and the Senate version (S 929) is currently in the Senate Banking Committee.

NAPSLO is hopeful that the Banking Committee will hold hearings on the bill this summer and will be approved by the full Senate this year.

Fla. Supreme Court rules on policy delivery; expands rules applying to surplus lines

In a case where the Florida Supreme Court ruled that delivery by a surplus lines company to the broker is delivery to the insured, the court also ruled that all but one section of Florida insurance code section 627 applies to surplus lines, potentially expanding the rules applying to surplus lines.

In the case Essex Insurance Co. v. Zota, the court said that Part 1 of Section 627 dealing with rates and rating organizations does not apply to surplus lines, however all other parts of 627 do apply to surplus lines.

The court said that the term "chapter" in 627.021(2)e in stating that "this chapter does not apply...to surplus lines," meant "part" (Part I, Rates and Rating Organization) so that the rest of chapter 627 does apply to surplus lines. The court stated that there was a scrivener error in the redrafting of the Florida statutes and that "chapter" was never intended to mean "chapter."

Under this ruling surplus lines insurers could potentially be subjected to all the state's rules in chapter 627 relating to insurance contracts including those involving notices of nonrenewal, imposition of attorneys fees, and valued policy laws. The most problematic issue could be the validity of surplus lines forms, since the court held that only rating is exempt.

A rehearing on the case is possible and if there is no change the industry may lobby the legislature next session on this issue.

The case arose from an incident where the customer did not receive a copy of the policy and sued to prevent Essex from denying coverage because it did not receive a copy. In the court's decision, it found no language present precluding a surplus-lines insurer or its direct surplus-lines agent from delivering a copy of the coverage documents to the insured’s independent representative-broker instead of directly to the insured.