Friday, February 24, 2012

Registration Underway for NAPSLO's Executive Leadership School, April 23-26

Registration is underway for the NAPSLO Executive Leadership School, set for April 23-26 at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business in Charlottesville. The school is an intense three-day MBA Executive Level program at one of America’s leading universities.

The brochure and registration materials for the school are available to download from the NAPSLO Website. Tuition is $2,995.

This program is designed for senior-level members who wish to broaden their perspectives on important social, political, and economic issues influencing the insurance industry. Participants will enhance their leadership skills to more effectively manage change at the personal, team, and organizational levels, and will return to their organizations with the tools and mindsets to think and act more strategically. Those who attend will develop the enterprise perspective required to make winning choices about running their businesses in today’s complex environment.

Participants will crystallize their personal world views about how to compete successfully in their market spaces, develop a deeper understanding of social, political, and economic forces affecting their business environments and relate the broad issues in the world to NAPSLO’s industry and to the career experiences—and challenges—of peer participants.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

E&S Joint Working Group Conducting Tech Survey on Workflow, Deadline is Feb. 27

The Retail Agents Subgroup of the Joint E&S Workgroup is in the process of surveying managing general agents and wholesaler brokers to ascertain the extent to which they are addressing major workflow recommendations that retail agents would like to see when writing E&S and program business.

A brief survey developed by the subgroup is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GAandWholesaleBrokerSurvey  and the group is requesting firms complete it by February 27.

Lisa Parry Becker, Chair of the Retail Agents Subgroup, plans to report on the results of the survey during her report at the E&S Joint Working Group meeting on March 4 at the AAMGA Technology Conference in Atlanta.  The responses of individual organizations will not be reported, except to the extent the subgroup get the organization’s permission to publicize positive examples of implementations.

The E&S Joint Working Group was formed by ACT, AAMGA, and NAPSLO in 2008 to improve the efficiencies for retail agents interacting with managing general agents and wholesale brokers in the E&S market and to promote the electronic exchange of data between the parties.

Monday, February 20, 2012

NAPSLO Notes Passing of Former Board Member David Anderson of Anderson & Murison

David F. Anderson, who founded NAPSLO member Anderson & Murison, Inc. in 1965 and served as chairman at the time of his death, passed away on February 12.

A visitation will be on Wednesday, February 22, from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills location in Los Angeles. The funeral service will be in the "Church of the Hills" (white church) on Thursday, February 23 at 12:30 p.m.

In addition to building his own firm, Mr. Anderson made significant contributions to the insurance industry and served on the NAPSLO Board of Directors from 1990 through 1992.

He twice served as chairman of the Surplus Lines Association of California and was a past president of the American Association of Managing General Agents and served on AAMGA's executive committee from 1976 to 1982. He was also a founder and the first president of the California Insurance Wholesale Association and served on its Board from 1991 until 2010.

He was born on November 12, 1926 in Campbell, California. He graduated from UCLA and served in the Army during WW II with the rank of Captain. He is survived by, Marshalene, his wife of 63 years daughter Melissa and granddaughters Amanda and Megan. Melissa continues the business as a Vice President with Anderson & Murison.

Mr. Anderson participated in clinical trials at UCLA in his more than two year effort against melanoma and donations are suggested to the Community Support Center Pasadena at http://www.cscpasadena.org/donate/tribute-a-memorial-gifts/david-anderson-memorial in his memory.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

NAPSLO Joins with IMCA to Again Offer Marketing Award

NAPSLO and the Insurance Marketing and Communications Association (IMCA) have again joined to offer an award for marketing efforts by NAPSLO members.

The 2012 NAPSLO Marketing Awards, in partnership with IMCA's Showcase Awards Program, will have a separate category, the NAPSLO Marketing Campaign Award, specifically for NAPSLO members.

The IMCA’s Showcase Award creative team will judge the competition, but the award will be presented at the NAPSLO annual convention in October.

The competition is open to NAPSLO members only. To be judged, materials must have been in the marketplace between January 1, 2011 and March 15, 2012. The campaign entries must include a minimum of two communication vehicles (non-electronic and/or electronic) that share a common campaign theme.

Members can find more information about the contest or find a link to enter the contest through the IMCA and NAPSLO websites. The deadline to enter is April 1; the is a cost of $100 per entry.

Marketing and communications projects from W.N. Tuscano Agency and Western World Insurance Group were recognized with Awards of Excellence presentations in the first NAPSLO Marketing Awards contest. The awards were presented as part of the awards presentation at the 2011 NAPSLO Annual Convention in San Diego.

Tuscano's Marketing Print Promotion and Western World's Electronic Digital Online Marketing Material tied for the top mark from the judges in 2011, which also evaluated the IMCA Showcase Awards, the insurance industry's longest-running creative awards for marketing and communications professionals. In addition, W.N. Tuscano's Website Marketing entry received an honorable mention in the awards contest.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Compliance Course Approved for CE in All States

NAPSLO's new online compliance course, the NAPSLO Surplus Lines Compliance Course, is now available for continuing education credit in all 50 states. This course, offered through NAPSLO and Success CE at http://napslo.successce.com is available in both CE credit and no CE credit versions.

"This is the first compliance course on surplus lines and now is available for CE credits in all states," said NAPSLO Education Director Randall Jones. "This is the latest educational program NAPSLO has developed on surplus lines and we are continuing to work on additional programs."

People interested in the course can access it through the CE & On-line Courses page of the Education & Schools section of the NAPSLO website. Once on the SuccessCE site, learners, whether they are taking the course for CE credit or not, should click on their state and then the Property & Casualty Insurance CE button to load the compliance course.

NAPSLO has made the compliance course, which normally will cost $14.95 to take for CE credit, or $7 for no CE credit, available at no charge for a limited time.

The course includes four sections, and eight lessons, with learning objectives within each lesson. The course provides an overview of the E&S Industry and Surplus Lines Brokers and Insurers and teaches students the basics of Surplus Lines Broker Licensing and Record Keeping, Insurer Eligibility, Non-Admitted Compliance:  Process and Procedures, Diligent Search, Tax Remittance, Policy Disclosure and Delivery, and Independent Procurement/Industrial Insured Exemption. The course also covers the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) and discusses NRRA/Exempt Commercial Policyholder (ECP) Laws.

Students taking the course also may take exams for CE Credits and the course has been approved for three hours credit in most states, except for New York, which granted a higher amount, and two hours in the State of Washington.

Monday, February 06, 2012

NAIC Makes Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers Available for Download by Public

Due to the prominence afforded the Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers in the Nonadmitted Insurance title of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) said in recognition of the needs of excess and surplus lines producers and consumers to access this information that it would now make this list of insurers available to download from the NAIC.

The listing provides brokers, exempt commercial purchasers, and insureds with assurance as to the eligibility of non-U.S. insurers with which excess and surplus lines insurance business is being quoted or placed.

Going forward, the NAIC announced that the Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers will be produced in two versions; one that is provided for general users and another that contains additional financial information and is available by subscription. The version of the listing that is provided for all users includes the name of the alien insurer and its Alien Insurer Identification Number (AIIN) and is available for viewing or download from the NAIC website.

The subscription version contains identical information, but also includes an abbreviated description of insurer listing requirements, insurer trust fund minimums and the market value of trust fund assets, various annual financial results, and trustee names and contact information.

For information related to establishing an account and obtaining a subscription to the expanded version of the Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers, visit the NAIC Store at http://www.naic.org/store_home.htm and select Publications

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Calif. Issues 2012 Export List With No New Items

The California Insurance Commission has issued Bulletin No. 2012-1 outlining the state’s 2012 Export Lists, noting that no new items were added to the export list.

The Department noted that risks and coverages not appearing on this list may still be exportable but are subject to the full documentation of the diligent search being performed with respect to insurance issued to a home state insured as required by Insurance Code Section 1763.

The Commissioner may by order declare eligible for placement with a nonadmitted insurer and exempt from all the requirements of Section 1763, except the filing of a confidential written report, any type of insurance coverage or risk for which he finds after a public hearing that there is not a reasonable or adequate market among admitted insurers.

The state noted that a public hearing will be held annually or more often at the Commissioner's discretion regarding the export list.

Friday, February 03, 2012

Hawaii Issues FAQs on Surplus Lines Taxes

The Hawaii Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs Insurance section has issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the payment of surplus lines taxes.

Among the areas the questions review include the current tax rate, which forms to file, Hawaii's tax formula on multi-state policies, and when various returns must be filed.

Hawaii's web site also includes other resources concerning surplus lines and taxes.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Stamping Offices: Premiums Increased in 2011

The 14 stamping offices in the United States processed $19.3 billion in surplus lines premium in 2011, an increase of 4.1% over the prior year, according to a report issued by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLSOT).

However the SLSOT noted that excluding data from New York, which processed a large amount of prior-year filings, total premium for the remaining 13 offices reflected an increase of $88 million, or just 0.6%. Total number of items processed by the stamping offices was 3.1 million, a decrease of 3.4% from 2010.

New York registered the largest percentage increase (22.4%) of all the stamping office states, followed by Washington (13.0%), Pennsylvania (11.8%) and Minnesota (11.2%). Six states reported declines in premiums, including Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Mississippi, Nevada, and Texas.