NIMA Surplus Lines Clearinghouse Issues Bulletin on Filing Multi-State Risk Policies
May 21, 2012
The Nonadmitted Insurance Multi-State Agreement (NIMA) Surplus Lines Clearinghouse (“Clearinghouse”) issued a May 17, 2012 bulletin to multi-state surplus lines agents and brokers, as well as independently procured coverage (IPC) filers on filing multi-state surplus lines policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2012 for NIMA-participating “home state” insureds.
Included in the Bulletin are instructions for the XML batch submission of data for policies in which a NIMA-participating state is deemed the “home state” of the insured under provisions of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act and which include premium for an exposure in one or more states or territories. It also covers information about a Web-based Multi-State Tax Calculator that can be used for determination of Clearinghouse transaction taxes, assessments, and required Clearinghouse transaction fees.
The Bulletin is reprinted below, as well as attached in PDF format.
Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Colodny Fass.
TO: MULTI-STATE SURPLUS LINES AGENTS/BROKERS AND INDEPENDENTLY PROCURED COVERAGE (IPC) FILERS
FROM: TIFFANY MARUNIAK, CLEARINGHOUSE MANAGER
DATE: MAY 17, 2012
SUBJECT: FILING CHANGES ON MULTI-STATE RISK POLICIES FOR SURPLUS LINES CLEARINGHOUSE
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide guidance regarding the filing of multi-state surplus lines policies after the Surplus Lines Clearinghouse has become operational. This bulletin is specific to policies in which a NIMA-participating state is deemed the “Home State” under the provisions of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) and the policy includes premium for an exposure in one or more states/territories, regardless of their NIMA participation status.
All multi-state policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2012, and any subsequent endorsements to those policies, in which a NIMA-participating state is deemed the “Home State” should be filed with the Surplus Lines Clearinghouse. Endorsements on multi-state policies with an effective date prior to July 1, 2012 should continue to be filed with the Home State in accordance with the laws in effect at the time the policy became effective.
Brokers and IPC filers should be aware of the policy data elements that will be required to make these filings with the Surplus Lines Clearinghouse as they may differ from the information currently required to be collected for each policy. A listing of the required policy data elements is posted at www.slclearinghouse.com.
Additionally, licensed brokers will be required to provide their National Producer Number (NPN) upon registration with the Surplus Lines Clearinghouse. This number is assigned by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners National Insurance Producer Registry and is unique to each producing entity. To find your NPN number, please visit: https://pdb.nipr.com/html/PacNpnSearch.html.
As authorized by the NIMA Agreement, brokers will be required to collect a transaction fee from the insured to be remitted to the Clearinghouse. This fee is payable by the insured directly or through brokers on each transaction processed through the Clearinghouse to cover the cost of its operations. A web-based Multi-State Tax Calculator to assist brokers in quoting the taxes due for transactions submitted to the Clearinghouse is available on the Clearinghouse website at http://www.slclearinghouse.com. The calculator will provide estimates to brokers and policyholders for all applicable surplus lines taxes, assessments, and the Clearinghouse transaction fees due for a multi-state placement for which the home state is a NIMA participating state.
As of the date of this bulletin, the NIMA premium allocation method has not been formally adopted by each of the participating states. Therefore, for multi-state policies issued or renewed with an effective date on or after July 1, 2012, agents and IPC filers should continue to use their current rating basis for allocation purposes until further guidance is provided.
Brokers can submit policy data to the Clearinghouse using two different methods: SLIP or XML Batch Filing. XML Batch Filing allows brokers to submit multiple transactions in a single upload. Brokers may download the XML Batch Filing Schema and Documentation from the Surplus Lines Clearinghouse website at http://www.slclearinghouse.com/xml/xml.batch.schema.v1.0.xsd and http://www.slclearinghouse.com/xml/xml.batch.manual.v1.0.pdf.
The Surplus Lines Clearinghouse will continue to provide information regarding the system implementation, educational tools and training opportunities for Clearinghouse customers as that information becomes available. If you have any questions, please call our office at (877) 267-9855.
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