September 19, 2018
The Carrier is your source for trends and updates in the surplus lines market in Florida.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Report Card Scores
Authorization Merry-Go-Round
Diligent Effort / Disclosure Matrix
Multistate Premium Filing
Batch Filing Checklist
PREMIUM ACTIVITY
Report Card Scores
The scores are in for the Insurer Report Card and we're proud to say congratulations on a job well done.
These scores encompass the entire year to date of 2018.
Great job on timely submissions!
We would love to help you increase the accuracy score. A useful tool to avail yourself of is the Insurer Procedures Manual. There you will find filing requirements as well as everything you need to know about being an eligible surplus lines carrier in Florida.
The following insurers scored the highest (A) in timeliness and accuracy; and did not have premium discrepencies. Congratulations!
CENTENNIAL CASUALTY COMPANY
CM VANTAGE SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
GOLDEN BEAR INSURANCE COMPANY
GREAT AMERICAN FIDELITY INSURANCE COMPANY
Housing Specialty Insurance Company, Inc. d/b/a HSIC
Mount Vernon Specialty Insurance Company d/b/a DEVON PARK SPECIALTY
NOETIC SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
NORCAL SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
NORTHFIELD INSURANCE COMPANY
PROFESSIONAL SECURITY INSURANCE COMPANY
REPUBLIC-VANGUARD INSURANCE COMPANY
ROCKINGHAM CASUALTY COMPANY
TOPA INSURANCE COMPANY
If you have any questions on filing, rules, or procedures feel free to contact us anytime at 850-205-6671 or send an email to bbogner@fslso.com. We are here to serve you.
Authorization Merry-Go-Round
The following are recent updates on authorizations and name changes.
The following insurers have recently changed names:
- The Standard Club Europe Ltd. (NAIC# AA1121372) is now The Standard Club UK Ltd.
- Chubb European Group Limited (NAIC# AA1120810) is now Chubb European Group SE.
- Liberty Mutual Insurance Limited (NAIC# AA1120855) is now Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE.
- Berkley Regional Specialty Insurance Company (NAIC# 31295) is now Berkley Specialty Insurance Company.
The following insurers were approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation:
- Trisura Specialty Insurance Company (NAIC# 16188 federally authorized foreign insurer)
- Falls Lake Fire & Casualty Company (NAIC# 15884 federally authorized foreign insurer)
- Mercer Insurance Company (NAIC# 14478 Florida eligible foreign insurer)
- Specialty Insurance Company (NAIC# 16275 federally authorized foreign insurer)
- AIG Europe Limited (NAIC# AA1120841 federally authorized alien insurer)
- Crystal Ridge Specialty Insurance Company (NAIC # 16275 federally authorized foreign insurer)
Reliamax Surety Company has been removed from the federally authorized list.
Diligent Effort/Disclosure Matrix
One of the most confusing pieces of the surplus lines insurance puzzle is discerning whether there is a need for a diligent effort. For that reason, we developed the Diligent Effort/Disclosure Matrix.
This information is now available in the popular Tax Estimator tool.
This matrix provides guidance on the diligent effort or disclosure requirement for each line of coverage, for both residential and nonresidential placements.
We have added all the information in the Diligent Effort/Disclosure Matrix to the Tax Estimator tool! Now, when you are trying to figure out tax costs based on the type of coverage, the Tax Estimator tool will also tell you whether the coverage will require a diligent effort, a disclosure form, or is exempt altogether.
This new feature will be implemented on the Tax Estimator mobile app, as well as in SLIP and on FSLSO.com.
Multistate Premium
Submitting multistate premium can be tricky. If you are submitting these types of transactions, please keep the following in mind.
HOME STATE
In 2010 the federal government created nationwide regulatory changes associated with the placement of surplus lines premium. Those changes were outlined in the Federal Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), which explains that only an insured's “home state” may require the payment of premium tax for nonadmitted insurance. There are several factors to consider before a policy's "home state" can be determined.
Florida is the insured’s "home state" if:
- The insured maintains its principal place of business here or,
- In the case of an individual, the individual’s principal residence is here.
If Florida is considered the insured’s "home state", only Florida’s requirements regarding the placement of such business will apply. If 100% of the risk is located outside of Florida, then the insured’s "home state" is the state to which the greatest percentage of the insured’s taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated.
PRINCIPLE PLACE OF BUSINESS
With respect to determining the "home state" of an insured, “principle place of business” is the location of the company headquarters and where the insured’s high-level officers direct, control, and coordinate the business activities.
PRINCIPLE RESIDENCE
With respect to determining the "home state" of an insured, “principle residence” is the state where the insured resides for the greatest number of days during a calendar year.
If you are submitting premium for an insurer please keep these factors in mind. Please remember if Florida is NOT the "home state," then the premium associated with the Florida risk is not required to be submitted to the Florida Surplus Lines Service Office (FSLSO). Conversely, if Florida is the "home state" then the entire premium should be submitted to the FSLSO.
For additional information related to the NRRA, please visit the NRRA section of the FSLSO’s website.
Batch Filing Checklist
When submitting a Batch file to FSLSO, refer to the following checklist to ensure your filings come through smoothly.
Make sure the transaction dates you are submitting are within the reporting period.
- 1st Quarter — January 1-March 31
- 2nd Quarter — April 1-June 30
- 3rd Quarter — July 1-September 30
- 4th Quarter — October 1-December 31
Premium totals you submit may not reflect an accurate amount for the reporting period. Any transactions included in the Batch that do not have an effective date during the reporting period will not be included in the total premium amount.
Make sure the transaction premium you are reporting is Florida "home state." This is important for multistate premium.
"Home state" is defined as “the state in which an insured maintains its principle place of business or, in the case of an individual, the individual’s principle residence; or if 100% of the insured risk is located out of the state to which the greatest percentage of the insured’s taxable premium for that contract is allocated."
If Florida is not the "home state" you do not need to report the premium with our office.
Check the FSLSO Active Florida Surplus Lines Agents/Brokers list to ensure the Batch will not be rejected for invalid agent/agency.
Make sure there are no duplicate transactions in the current Batch or the transaction has not been submitted prior to importing the batch. Both of these scenarios will cause the batch to be rejected for duplicate transaction.
Validate your Batch file against the schema. There are several applications available for validating XML files against a schema.
If you don't already have one, a freeware version called XML Notepad 2007 is available through Microsoft. An alternate web-based method is available at Freeformatter.com.
NOTE: Please do not use the above to edit your XML files, as it inserts a Byte Order Mark (BOM) which is incompatible with .NET web services.
Using XML Notepad 2007 to validate your files:
- Save the schema locally.
- Save the appropriate schema(s) (.xsd files) to your hard drive.
- Download and install XML Notepad 2007.
- Start XML Notepad 2007.
- Click File > Open. Navigate to the file you would like to check for validity, then click Open.
- Click View > Schemas.
- If the schema you want to validate against is not in the list, click the '...' button (any grid row) and navigate to the downloaded schema (.xsd file).
- Ensure that the schema you are validating against is the only one unchecked in the Disabled column. Click Ok.
- Any validation error will now show in the Error List at the bottom of the screen.
If the Batch has been rejected, review your attached email excel spreadsheet for errors, the spreadsheet will show the rejection reason and reference the transaction ID number. Make any necessary edits and resubmit the XML file.
www.fslso.com
Have questions? Contact us at 800.562.4496, option 1 or email agent.services@fslso.com.
