The newest edition
of the AAIS Compliance Guide, scheduled to be issued in early
October, will feature new sections on punitive damages and Standard Fire
Policy regulations, as well as updated sections addressing disclosure
notices, countersignature requirements, company filing actions, and
applications, binders, and certificates of insurance.
The Compliance
Guide is a comprehensive resource of information on rate and form
filing requirements, plus other regulatory compliance information, for
all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. (This resource
was called the State Filings Guide until renamed in 2007.)
The new punitive
damages section features a table indicating which states allow punitive
damages for direct or vicarious liability to be insured, plus other
points of information regarding that topic. The new Standard Fire Policy
(SFP) section indicates which states have SFP laws and any exceptions to
those laws.
The Compliance
Guide is provided for no additional charge to all AAIS member companies.
Non-AAIS companies interested in purchasing the Compliance Guide
can contact Rick Maka, director of marketing, at
rickm@AAISonline.com, or by calling 800-564-AAIS.
AAIS will host a web seminar at
10 a.m. Central time (11 a.m. Eastern) on Thursday,
Oct. 9 describing the recent comprehensive revision
of its
Boatowners Program.
Participation is open to individuals from companies
affiliated with AAIS for use of one or more of its insurance line
programs. Individuals from organizations not affiliated with AAIS can
request permission to participate by contacting Joyce Tignino, vice
president of marketing and industry relations, at
joycet@AAISonline.com or by
calling 800-564-AAIS.
To register,
Pamela Nykaza, AAIS senior product development specialist for inland
marine, will describe features of the program's base form and selected
endorsements. She will also provide a brief overview of the manual rules
and rating procedure. Nykaza is the principal developer of the latest
revision of the AAIS Boatowners Program, recently filed countrywide and approved
in 39 states so far.
The AAIS Boatowners Program, first introduced in the early 1990s, is the
property/casualty industry's first standardized program for insuring
small- privately owned watercraft.
Under the latest revision of the program, coverage can be written for
property only, liability only, or property and liability; a policy can
be written on a
stand-alone basis or as an endorsement to another personal lines policy.
Uninsured boaters coverage is automatically provided under every policy
written to provide liability coverage.
AAIS has introduced
a new base coverage form in the Riggers' Coverage section of the
Inland Marine Guide,
a resource of policy forms, rating procedures, underwriting guidelines,
and other information for the traditionally nonfiled classes of inland
marine insurance.
Riggers' insurance is written for contractors that
specialize in hoisting heavy equipment or fixtures onto structures.
With the introduction of the latest form, the Guide now provides two
base forms for that class:
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A revised Riggers'
Coverage form, described in a previous
Advisory and
press
release, provides open perils coverage for loss to property of
others in the insured's care, custody, or control, regardless of the
insured's negligence in causing a loss.
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The new Riggers'
Legal Liability Coverage form, also covers loss to property of others
in the insured's care, custody, or control, but only if the insured is
found legally liable for a loss or damage, and only up to amount of the
insured's liability.
The new form is
available immediately for use in most states, and has a proposed
effective date of Feb. 1, 2009 in those states that do not exempt inland
marine insurance from form filing requirements.
For information on
affiliating with AAIS for use of the Inland Marine Guide, contact Rick
Maka, director of marketing, at
rickm@AAISonline.com, or by calling 800-564-AAIS.
The Kansas
Insurance Department has approved use of AAIS's simplified fire
protection classification and rating system, recently expanded and filed
countrywide under the AAIS Commercial Properties Program.
Kansas had
previously withheld approval of the AAIS system, but it is now approved
in nearly all states, with an effective date of May 1, 2009 in Kansas.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance recently
issued a
bulletin promulgating a new form insurers must eventually use to
allow policyholders to select or reject uninsured or underinsured
motorists (UM/UIM) coverage for bodily injury.
By Jan. 1, 2010, the form must be used on all
policies providing automobile liability insurance, including excess and
umbrella policies. Until that date, insurers have a transition period
when they can use the previously promulgated form or the latest one.
The insurance departments of Texas and Louisiana
have issued several emergency regulations and orders in the wake of
hurricanes Dolly, Gustav, and Ike.
A series of Texas orders can be found
here, and
a wide-ranging Louisiana emergency rule is found
here.
AAIS staff members will be in attendance these
upcoming industry events:
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Paul Baiocchi, president, Joyce Tignino, vice
president of marketing and industry relations, and Rick Maka,
director of marketing, will
attend the
annual
convention of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies
(booth #500),
Sept. 28-Oct. 1 in Philadelphia.
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Robert Guevara, vice president of inland marine,
will speak at the
annual conference of the Association of Insurance Compliance
Professionals, Oct. 5-8 in Atlanta, Ga. Joyce Tignino and AAIS compliance staff
members Laura Lemke and Pallavi Shah will
also be in attendance at booth #117.
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Rick Maka will attend the
Midwest Agribusiness Conference, Oct. 22-23 in Des Moines, Iowa.
