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Excess and surplus lines
Surplus-lines disclosure
Is any disclosure notice required when writing a surplus-lines policy?
Direct placement tax
I just received a copy of a form entitled “Direct Placement Tax Return—Insurance Placement with Unauthorized Insurer or Self-Insurer’s Report.” What is the purpose of this form?
Surplus-lines tax—tax-exempt entities
Our client is a church. We placed the coverage in the surplus-lines market. The church officers say the church is tax-exempt, so they do not feel they should have to pay the surplus-lines premium tax. Is this correct?
Surplus-lines cancellation
I have a New Jersey property account which has been in effect for more than 60 days. Now the company is canceling it due to a loss. The company is nonadmitted. Is this legal?
Diligent effort
The Certification Of Effort To Place Risk With Authorized Insurer provides a place to record declinations below this statement: “The following insurers are among those that I contacted relative to this risk....”
Smaller agencies may not have three admitted insurers to contact for the placement of a particular risk. Have any alternatives been approved by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance; for example, recording declinations received directly by the applicant?
Rules for accessing the surplus-lines market
For risks that do not automatically qualify for the surplus-lines market, I continue to hear somewhat conflicting information about the need for and completeness of declinations in the admitted market. Is there some “flexibility” that makes this less onerous?
Minimum-earned premium
What about a surplus-lines policy with an earned premium provision that states the annual premium is 100% earned at placement? Would this be deemed excessive? What if such a policy was financed and the insured fails to pay the finance company?
Massachusetts surplus-lines fees
What is the law on the maximum surplus-lines fee that can be charged in Massachusetts?
Declinations due to deficient coverage
Can I consider an authorized insurer’s failure to provide all aspects of the coverage requested by the applicant to be a declination, or does the applicant have to settle for inferior coverage?
CGL—third-party over exclusions
We are seeing third-party over exclusion endorsements on property owner policies written in the surplus-lines market. What are the coverage implications for the property owner?