Annual Statements & Financial Matters
    A Hawai'i notice tells of the sift of a public hearing date, from Nov. 19 to Nov. 30, for the adoption of proposed rule HAR 16-185, Annual Audited Financial Reporting.
 
    New Jersey has new annual and quarterly statement reporting rules in NJAC 11:19-1.
 
    New York has adopted, on an emergency basis, the 7th amendment to Regulation 172, dealing with financial statement filings and accounting practices and procedures.
 
    Virginia Administrative Letter 2009-10 reminds insurers that the Tax Packet Payment Voucher must be filed as part of the annual tax and assessment forms due March 1 of each year.
 
 
Automobile Insurance
    New York has two data calls for automobile insurance companies:
    • the public auto classification data call is due Dec. 7; and
    • the 2009 Insurance Availability Survey and 2009 Annual Free Trade Zone Survey is due by Dec. 28.
 
 
Health Insurance
    There are changes coming to several Colorado health insurance rules:
    • Regulation 4-2-13, Mammography Minimum Benefit Level, will be repealed in its entirety Jan. 1, 2010;
    • a new version of Colorado Regulation 4-2-15, Required Provisions in Carrier Contracts with Providers and Intermediaries Negotiating on Behalf of Providers, goes into effect Dec. 1; and
    • Regulation 4-2-22, Insurer Assessments For CoverColorado, is effective Jan. 1, 2010.
 
    Maryland Bulletin 09-26 clarifies a portion of the definition of small employer found in the Maryland Health Insurance Reform Act – specifically the portion of the small employer definition that describes affiliated companies.
 
    New Jersey has new rules for health insurance identification cards in NJAC 11:22-8.
 
    Ohio Executive Order 2009-21S waived the usual rulemaking process so the Insurance Department could adopt, on an emergency basis, Rule 3901-8-12 and Appendix A. They outline the requirements insurance companies are to follow to inform Ohioans of the new rate-cap changes in the Open Enrollment Health Insurance Program.
 
    Rhode Island HB 5415 has provisions dealing with refusing to write health insurance for someone with AIDS or HIV. 
 
 
Life Insurance
    A Hawai'i notice tells of the sift of a public hearing date, from Nov. 19 to Nov. 30, for the adoption of proposed rule HAR 16-171, Miscellaneous Insurance Rules. The state wants to adopt a new Subchapter 8 that would have seven rules covering life settlements.
 
    Rhode Island HB 5415 has provisions dealing with canceling the life insurance policy of someone with AIDS or HIV. 
 
 
Producers
    Colorado has revised Regulation 1-2-10, which deals with licensing insurance producers and insurance agencies. The new version of the rule goes into effect Jan. 1, 2010.
 
    We previously reported about Florida’s plans to update its producer licensing online systems. The state was to have its systems offline from Nov. 11-15, and have them available again Nov. 16 (ICI, Nov. 9, 2009). That work has been delayed, according to a notice on the Division of Agents and Agency Services Web site. Upgrades will now be done Nov. 25-29 and the site returned online Nov. 30. As before, the work will include the producer MyProfile, eAppoint and licensee search. Producers will temporarily be unable to apply for licensure, submit address or appointment changes, review licensee details, submit or search prelicensing and continuing education information or perform related licensing functions. Also as before, applications for licensure submitted after Nov. 30 may take up to 30 business days to be processed.
 
    A Michigan Nov. 3 memorandum tells how the state will convert continuing education review dates for producers and solicitors from a date assigned by the last digit of the Social Security number to a date based on the agent’s birth month and year.
 
    New York is proposing a new rule, Regulation 194, dealing with producer compensation transparency. Comments are due by Dec. 2.
 
    Texas is proposing to amend 28 TAC 19.1001-.1007, .1009, .1011-.1017 and .1019, and adopt new rules 28 TAC 19.1024 - 19.1030. They concern Medicare-related product certification, small-employer health benefit plan specialty certification, annuity certification, continuing education courses and licensee training requirements.
 
    A Wisconsin Nov. 13 bulletin has information about annual resident and nonresident producer billings. Invoices will be mailed in mid-January 2010 and payments will have to be paid by electronic funds transfer at the department Web site.
 
 
Property/Casualty Insurance
    Louisiana HB 333 makes changes to the hurricane deductible on property insurance policies. It states:
For all homeowners’ insurance policies or other policies insuring a one or two-family owner occupied premises for fire and allied lines, issued or renewed by authorized insurers on or after Jan. 1, 2010, any separate deductible that applies in place of any other deductible to loss or damage resulting from a named storm or hurricane shall be applied on an annual basis to all named-storm or hurricane losses that are subject to the separate deductible during the calendar year.
 
    New York Legal Opinion 09-10-01 addresses several issues surrounding the state’s fire insurance premium tax and fire insurance fee:
    • A foreign or alien insurer is required to pay both the fire insurance premium tax and the fire insurance fee.
    • A foreign or alien insurer may elect to pay the fire tax to the insurance superintendent but it must pay the fire insurance fee to the superintendent.
    • An insurer is not required to list on the policy the names and addresses of the fire departments to which the fire insurance fee or the fire insurance premium tax is to be distributed.
    • A homeowner policy is not subject to the fire insurance fee if the policy covers only one- or two-family residential structures, but a homeowner policy that covers three-family or more residential structures is subject to the fire insurance fee.
    • The fire insurance premium tax is levied only on that portion of premium that covers the peril of fire.
 
    Another New York discussion in Legal Opinion 09-10-03 states that a lender’s property reporting policy, which includes coverage for the peril of fire, is subject to the fire insurance fee.
 
    Rhode Island has amended Regulation 110 to clarify existing language regarding nonrenewal and cancellation as they apply to hurricanes and residential insurance policies. In another change, the phrase “or the insured value on the policy” was added to clarify the definition with regard to a second type of deductible. The changes are effective Nov. 23.
 
    Virginia Administrative Letter 2009-11 reminds agents to remit premiums and issue title policies in a timely manner. Funds must be paid to the insurer or other party in the “ordinary course of business” and agents are to issue title insurance policies at the same time the premium is sent to the insurer.
 
 
State Regulation of Insurance
    Hawai'i has reorganized its Insurance Department Web site. Among the changes are a new URL for its proposed rules, which can now be accessed at http://hawaii.gov/dcca/ins/har/ins/proposed-insurance-har/, and the insurance rules in the Hawai'i Administrative Code, which can be accessed at http://hawaii.gov/dcca/ins/har.
 
 
Surplus Lines
    Arkansas is proposing to amend Rule 24 to clarify existing surplus lines insurance legislation. It provides direction regarding forms and documents necessary for proper reporting and accounting on property, casualty, surety and marine insurance issued by surplus line insurers through surplus line brokers.
 
    Delaware Surplus Lines Bulletin 5 contains a spreadsheet list of insurers that can place surplus lines insurance in Delaware.
 
 
Third-Party Administrators
    A District of Columbia notice affirms that D.C. insurance laws don’t allow for the licensing or regulation of third-party administrators. Applicants for TPA registration can ask the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for any filing requirements that might apply.
 
 
(RR&B is produced with the assistance of The CLEAR Report and the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.)
 
 
Copyright 2009 ProBusiness Publishing LLC

Publish date Nov 16 2009
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Reprinted with permission from Insurance Compliance Insight.
Copyright © 2009 ProBusiness Publishing LLC
Licensed from ProBusiness Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.