Registration Underway for Advanced School

Registration for the NAPSLO Advanced School is now underway and materials are being mailed or are available to download from the NAPSLO website.

The 2009 Advanced School is set for November 7-10, 2009 in St. Louis, MO and offers a comprehensive look at surplus lines and provides the opportunity to meet with others in the industry. Up to 12 hours of continuing education credit, depending on course, will be available.

The sessions will take place at the Eric P. Newman Education Center, which is located within walking distance of the Parkway Hotel, where attendees stay.

The Advanced School is designed for insurance professionals with more than five years experience in the surplus lines industry. Persons with less than five years surplus lines experience are encouraged to attend the NAPSLO E&S School, offered each Summer, however completion of the NAPSLO E&S School is not a prerequisite.

Registration deadline is October 1 and applicants must work for a NAPSLO or AAMGA member firm.

NAPSLO, PLUS Working Together to Offer Educational Programs to Each Other's Members

The Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) and the NAPSLO are working together to offer unique opportunities for members of both organizations. PLUS is a nonprofit organization established to support and enrich the careers of people involved in the field of professional liability underwriting.

“PLUS and NAPSLO are two of the most highly respected associations in the insurance industry; both with unique missions and membership, and we have a common interest in providing education and information to our members. This new initiative is designed to enhance both organizations and the value we bring to our members. It once again demonstrates how our industry responds to challenges with the type of innovation that leads to a brighter, more successful future,” said PLUS President, David Bell, Chief Operating and Administrative Officer of Allied World Assurance Company, Ltd.

“NAPSLO is known as the authoritative voice of the surplus lines industry. We are always looking for relationships with other segments of the insurance industry, particularly when it comes to providing educational information, promoting the professionalism of our members and sharing information about the vital role of the excess and surplus lines insurance industry,” said NAPSLO President, John F. Wood, III, President of Specialty Risk Associates. “Our partnership with PLUS will allow for new ways to accomplish our mission and provide value to our members.”

Through this partnership, NAPSLO member companies and their employees will gain access to the PLUS Curriculum, a 23-module collection of professional liability training modules designed for adult learners, and other educational opportunities at its conference and seminars. Concurrently, PLUS will gain the benefit of NAPSLO’s surplus lines expertise through shared presentations, regulatory information, and access to NAPSLO’s educational schools.

The 2009 PLUS Annual International Conference, being held November 11-13 in Chicago, will host a panel presentation featuring a number of experts in the excess and surplus lines industry.
Visit www.plusweb.org or www.napslo.org for more information about efforts to better each organization’s sector of the insurance industry

Director Candidate Suggestions Sought

Director candidate nominations are still being accepted by the NAPSLO Nominating Committee in order to assist the Committee in developing the slate of directors to be presented for a vote at the next Annual Business Meeting to be held in conjunction with the 2009 Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida on October 9.

NAPSLO members must submit the candidate names for consideration as director nominees no later than August 26, 2009, but members are encouraged to submit such names as soon as possible. Suggested candidate names may be submitted by NAPSLO members to the committee, in writing, by e-mail at nominations@napslo.org; by postal mail to the NAPSLO office; or directly to members of the Nominating Committee.

The Nominating Committee is chaired by former Past President Bill Newton of RPS Los Angeles (Lemac & Assoc.) and members of the committee are: Dave Leonard, RSUI Group; Hank Haldeman, The Sullivan Group; Tim Makowski, Specialty Lines Underwriters, and Steve Vaccaro, MAX Specialty Insurance Co.

As required by the Association's Bylaws, the Nominating Committee will prepare slates of nominees and submit them to the NAPSLO membership at least 30 days prior to the Annual Business Meeting.

Annual Convention Registration Passes 2,000

More than 2,000 people have registered for the 2009 NAPSLO Annual Convention, October 7-10 at the Orlando World Center Marriott, and hotel rooms at the Marriott are nearly sold out. A number of rooms are available at the Caribe Royale Resort, located near the Marriott.

Representatives of NAPSLO member firms may registered for the convention, and reserve a hotel room, through using the link on the NAPSLO Convention site - http://annual.napslo.org.

Washington Changes Surplus Lines Code

The state of Washington has made changes to the states surplus lines codes, effective July 1, 2009. EHB 1568—Producer Licensing, which was signed into law by the governor, addresses surplus lines brokers in the context of on-going producer licensing reforms that have been approved in recent years. The bill makes the following changes:

• The measure prohibits certain practices for surplus line brokers.
• It applies a number of statutes to surplus line brokers, and makes a number of language and grammatical changes the provisions relating to surplus lines brokers.
• Minimum bonding amounts in the name of the state or a named insured for liability are modified.
• A surplus line broker must have bonds in the amount of $2,500, or 5 percent of premiums in the previous year—whichever is greater. This amount is capped at a maximum of $100,000.
  
• Additional methods to satisfy the bonding requirements are created.
• Provisions regarding the renewal of a license and the impact of late renewal or of renewing a lapsed license are added.
• A number of sections that currently apply to producers are also specifically applied to surplus line brokers.
  

Surplus Lines Stamping Offices Report 9.4% Premium Drop in First Half of 2009

Surplus lines premiums dropped more than 9 percent in the first half of 2009 among states with stamping offices, according to a new report by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas.

The report showed that premiums dropped from $11.3 billion in 2008 to $10.3 billion in 2009, with California reporting the largest drop, going from $3.1 billion in 2008 to $2.25 in 2009. As a result Florida, which only saw a 9.1% decline to $2.35 billion, took over as the largest premium volume state.

In additional to California's 27.7% decline, other states reporting double digit declines were Arizona (-17.7%), Idaho (-24.9%), Illinois (-13.5%), Nevada (-27.2%), Oregon (-29.2%), and Pennsylvania (-10.1%).

On the positive side, property increases helped Texas reported a 12.2% increase. Other states with positive numbers were: Montana (44.2%), Mississippi (9.1%), and Utah (2.7%). Montana's increase reflects the closing of the stamping office as of July 1 2,009 when the state took over collection responsibilities.

New York reported a small decline of 1.6%, dropping from $1,811 billion from $1,841 billion and Washington reported a decline of 2.5%. Minnesota's stamping office opened Jan. 1, 2009 and reported $114 million in premium.

While there was a large decline in premiums, the number of policies processed dropped only 2.9% in the first half of the year.

NJ Increases Surplus Lines Premium Tax

The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance announced that premium tax rate on surplus lines insurance increased from three percent to five percent on June 29.

In addition, three percent of the premium receipts tax covering fire insurance will be paid to the Treasurer of the New Jersey State Firemen’s Association and the remaining two percent of the premium receipts tax will be forwarded to the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.

This changes requires changes to the surplus lines premium receipts tax forms and instructions related for submission of quarterly surplus lines premium taxes by producers, and for out-of State placements.

The state said that surplus lines agents and insureds required to submit premium receipts tax should utilize the revised forms and instructions for the submission of premium taxes beginning with the 3rd quarter (July 1, 2009 through September 30, 2009). The Department is developing proposed amendments to N.J.A.C. 11:19-3 to reflect the current statutory requirements. Filings not conforming with the new rates and forms will be returned to filer.

Questions may be directed to the Surplus Lines Examining Office at: (609) 292-5350 x50088 or x50106, or by e-mail to william.leach@dobi.state.nj.us or
steven.zalewitz@dobi.state.nj.us.

July Newsletter Available!

The July issue of the NAPSLO newsletter has been sent to members and a copy is also available on the NAPSLO website.

The full newsletter, or individual stories, can be viewed online on the NAPSLO website.

Convention Registration Passes 1,600

More than 1,600 people have registered for NAPSLO’s 2009 Annual Convention, scheduled for October 7-10 in Orlando, Florida, taking advantage of the improved online registration process. This year's convention theme is “Achieve Through Partnership” and the meeting will focus on current business topics.

Online registration began June 15 and members can register at http://annual.napslo.org by clicking on the Register Online link. After registering, members can reserve a hotel room through the hotel reservation link. Attendees must be registered for the Convention to reserve a room.

Convention programs include Dr. Robert Hartwig of the Insurance Information Institute presenting the ’s Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation Lecture; a panel discussion featuring company and broker representatives discussing the current state of the industry, and a special discussion panel with the Next Generation of E&S vs. the Baby Boomers on current workplace issues.

B&D Reviews Impact of CFPA on Industry

NAPSLO's Washington D.C. representative has reviewed the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPC) Act of 2009 , and based on its analysis, if passed, would have the following impact on the insurance industry:

• The business of insurance is specifically excluded from the CFPC’s authority to regulate consumer financial products or services under the Act.
• Entities engaged in the business of insurance would not be subject to the Agency's reporting requirements for "nondepository” entities.
• The authority over consumer financial protection currently vested in the state insurance regulators will not be transferred to the CFPC.
• The Act recognizes the authority of state insurance regulators' over insurance products and Annuities which is to be separate and apart from the Agency's authority.