FSLSO National Clearinghouse Committee authorizes negotiations with software licensee

The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office (“FSLSO”) National Clearinghouse Committee (“Committee”) met today, August 16, 2011, and voted unanimously to begin negotiations with Infinity Software (“Infinity”) to serve as the software licensee for the FSLSO’s technology platform, should it be selected to service the Nonadmitted Insurance Multi-State Agreement (“NIMA”) Clearinghouse that will ultimately collect and distribute premium taxes pursuant to surplus lines reform provisions of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act  of 2010 (“NRRA”).

Committee member Dan O’Leary was selected to participate in the negotiations with Infinity on behalf of the Committee, because of his longtime experience with the company. 

Many questions and variables still exist in regard to how the FSLSO technology platform might interface with the NIMA Clearinghouse.  It has not yet been decided who will operate the Clearinghouse, exactly how it would be run, or how it would be organized. 

It was noted that time is of the essence, inasmuch as a decision on Clearinghouse operations may occur during the upcoming National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (“NAIC”) Summer meeting, which is scheduled from August 29  through September 1 in Philadelphia.

“Based on the information we received, I think the hope and plan of the NIMA participating states is for them to make some decision relative to the Clearinghouse provider at the upcoming NAIC meeting,” FSLSO Executive Director Gary Pullen said.  “That puts things on a pretty aggressive schedule from our end relative to some decisions we have to make.”

During previous months, Committee members had considered the idea of partnering with the NAIC to operate the Clearinghouse, with the FSLSO providing the technology aspect and the NAIC providing administrative services, but concerns arose over software access issues. 

After brief discussion, Committee members chose Infinity, which has been the FSLSO’s information services technology partner for years.

“I would be in favor of entering into a software licensing agreement with Infinity.  We have a long, long history with them.  They know us and we know them,” Committee Chair Dave Holcombe said.

With no further business before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned.

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