|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas Legislature The Third Called Session of the 79th Texas Legislature began April 17. While the primary focus of the special session will be education finance reform, there is a growing consensus that a mechanism for funding of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association must be found. Since TWIA’s current insured exposure along the coast exceeds $26 billion, this subject may be added to the list for legislators to consider. TDI Data Call In January, the Texas Department of Insurance issued a mandatory data call to all insurers, including surplus lines carriers, requesting policy counts in force as of December 31, 2005. The Stamping Office has been working with TDI to respond to data calls of this type on behalf of insurers. Federal Regulations Both the U.S. House and Senate are actively pursuing bills that would create some level of federal regulation of insurance. In the House, the SMART Act promotes uniformity of state laws while preserving state regulation by setting regulatory standards in numerous key areas, including market conduct, company and agent licensing, and surplus lines insurance. In the Senate, the proposed National Insurance Act would establish a dual system of regulation, similar to that available to banks, by creating a national regulator. Insurers and agents could choose an optional federal charter, permitting them to operate nationally with a single license, while avoiding the major regulatory powers of each individual state. Multi-state Exposures In March, NAPSLO provided to the Surplus Lines Task Force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners a white paper addressing the issues of regulatory compliance and premium tax allocation on surplus lines policies with multi-state exposures. “The Future Is Now” suggests the solution lies in the development of a system of one-state filing and adoption by the states of an interstate tax compact. In reviewing these problems, the Task Force has requested input from the 15 US stamping offices. Independently Procured Numerous nonresident agents are filing policies with SLSOT whenever a policy issued outside Texas has an incidental Texas exposure. If Texas is not the primary state (home state of the insured, state where the majority of the risk is located), the Texas portion is deemed “independently procured.” Under this example, the policy should not be filed with the Stamping Office, nor should a stamping fee be charged on the Texas premium. Late Policy Filings In April, SLSOT mailed out a “Late Policy Filing Report” to agents, which listed policies appearing to be reported to the Stamping Office later than the statutory deadline (i.e., the later of 60 days after a policy’s issuance or effective date.) If your agency received this report, please review it to evaluate your filing procedures. |
From the Lone Star Lines -
April - June Issue 2006
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
SLSOT
Board Elects Baker 2006 Chairman
| Greg Baker was unanimously elected Chairman of the SLSOT Board of
Directors during the Annual Meeting held at the Stamping Office in
March. Mr. Baker is a University of Oklahoma graduate and is employed as
a Sr. Vice President for Crump Insurance Services of Texas, Inc. in
Dallas. Bill Fink, Delta General Agency Corp., was elected
Vice-Chairman, and Milton O. Johnston, Milton O. Johnston & Company,
will serve as Secretary for the year.
|
From the Lone Star Lines
- April - June Issue 2006
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
Mace, Rider, & Spencer Join
SLSOT Board of Directors
| Commissioner Mike Geeslin has named Thomas Mace, Nabors Industries, Martha Rider, Fort Bend County, and Sharon Spencer (not pictured), Nursefinders, Inc., to the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas Board of Directors. Mr. Mace and Ms. Rider will each serve 3-year terms while Ms. Spender will serve the remainder of an unexpired term. We congratulate them on their appointments and look forward to their participation on our Board. |
From the Lone Star Lines -
April - June Issue 2006
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
SLSOT Publication Change
| Our procedure for receiving SLSOT manuals, monthly Bulletins, and the Lone Star Lines newsletter is changing. A licensed agent/agency or an eligible surplus lines company may elect to receive these publications free as a mailed “hard copy” or by email notification. If another individual within an agency or company requests additional copies of any of these publications, we will only offer the email version from this point forward. Since this greatly reduces cost for mailing, we are eliminating the fee (Procedures Manual $75 and bulletins $37.50) that we have been charging for this service. At some future time, SLSOT will offer only on-line manuals and e-bulletins for all recipients. For now, this will help us work toward that goal. If you have any questions concerning this change, please contact Dalen Harris, Communication Coordinator, at (800) 449-6394 ext. 226 or dharris@slsot.org. |
From the Lone Star Lines -
April - June Issue 2006
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
US Stamping Office Statistics
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From the Lone Star Lines -
April - June Issue 2006
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
NAPSLO Announces New ASLI Designation
Requirements
|
One of the primary original objectives of the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO
Educational Foundation was the creation of a professional Excess & Surplus
Lines designation program, known as the Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance
(ASLI) designation. The ASLI program was unveiled in 1995 and the
designation is awarded at the NAPSLO Annual Convention. The ASLI designation
recognizes those professionals who have attained a high level of training in
surplus lines insurance. The Foundation recently announced major changes to
the ASLI designation program. The Insurance Institute of America, with the
cooperation of the Foundation, is replacing the ASLI program's two required
foundation courses and is establishing new completer rules. Two new required
courses, ASLI 163 - Surplus Lines Insurance Operations and ASLI 164 -
Surplus Lines Insurance Products, will replace ASLI 161 and ASLI 162. In
addition, the current two elective course categories-coverage courses and
operational courses-will be eliminated and students will be able to choose
their electives from a single course list in a number of areas such as
claims, underwriting, risk management, reinsurance, and finance. For
additional information on the ASLI program visit: www.napslo.org/content/Foundation/ASLI/asli.htm |
From the Lone Star Lines -
April - June Issue 2006
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
Help Is Only a
Click Away!
| For those filing policies with the Stamping Office, whether your agency is newly licensed, a non-resident licensee, or one who writes only the occasional surplus lines policy, help assistance is readily available to you. When you visit our website at www.slsot.org, scroll to Agent Information and you will find questions and answers on “How To File”, printable forms such as the Transmittal & Verification Slip, Other States/Exempt Premium, the Complaint Notice, and the Guaranty Fund Stamp. You will also find a “Checklist for Submitting Items to SLSOT” which gives you a quick and easy way to be sure your submission is complete. Simply click on the applicable topic for information. If you still have filing questions please call (800) 449-6394 or (512) 346-3274. Dialing extension 710 will take you directly to the Data Services Department where staff will be happy to assist you. Under “Publications & Education” you are able to access our Procedures Manual, which includes parts of the Texas Insurance Code applicable to surplus lines. Please take the time to visit www.slsot.org and see for yourself. |
From the Lone Star Lines -
April - June Issue 2006
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
EFS
Quick Tips
|
From the Lone Star Lines -
April - June Issue 2006
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
Helpful Hints -
Paper Filing of Policies
|
From the Lone Star Lines -
April - June Issue 2006
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
Comparison of SLSOT Premium Processed
by Line of Business
|
Annual Statement Line of Business |
Premium through 3/2006 |
Premium through 3/2005 |
Percent Change |
|
