All surplus line policies, where Illinois is the home state of the insured, must be filed with the Surplus Line Association of Illinois (SLAI) using our Electronic Filing System (EFS). All premium bearing endorsements to such policies must also be filed with the SLAI using the EFS.
Before making electronic filings with the Association, you must register. For new members, registration materials are included in the SLAI Member Registration Package. If you are already a member, download the Member Registration Package and follow the instructions under "Current Members Registering for Electronic Filing."
In this section...
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Filing your surplus line policies and endorsements with the SLAI should be done on a timely basis. If you believe
that waiting for the policy paperwork would cause a delay in filing and you
have a binder, file based on the binder information (read the Special
Procedures for Binder Filing under #3, below). Remember, it is
unlawful to deliver a policy to the insured before it has been filed with
the SLAI.
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In order to set up an account, you must register for
electronic filing.
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When making an EFS filing based on a binder (in lieu of a policy), you must
have a company binder with a policy number ("to be assigned" or "not
available" will not suffice as a policy number). The binder must
include the "Notice to Policyholder" wording and service of suit
requirements (see our special combined "Notice To Policyholder / Service of
Suit" stamp for binders). When the policy becomes available,
it's a good idea to attach a copy of the EFS filing confirmation page before delivering it
to the insured.
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The EFS is intuitive and easy to use. Help is available for each screen and for each field by clicking on the help button at the top of the screen or on the letter "i" in a blue circle anywhere it appears.
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"Notice to Policyholder" wording must be on first page or declarations
page of each policy or binder filing. You do not need this wording on endorsements.
For electronic filers, attaching the EFS confirmation, which includes the "Notice to Policyholder" wording, is an acceptable substitute for this
requirement. A stamp with the wording can be requested by
contacting us.
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Policies must have proper
Service of Suit
wording. For sample service of suit wording,
click here.
When filing a binder as an alternate to policy filing, the Department of Insurance requires that the binder contain service of suit wording. With an EFS filing, the confirmation page will include the appropriate wording, so attaching the confirmation page will satisfy the requirement. If you don't attach the confirmation page, you can still include this wording on binders. To find out how,
click here. Endorsements do not need service of suit wording.
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Surplus line and fire marshal
taxes,
and the Association stamping fees, must be shown as separate line items on the declarations page. Attaching the EFS filing confirmation page is an acceptable substitute for this requirement. Taxes and fees are charged
against premium only. Do not charge taxes or stamping fees on policy fees, inspection fees, etc.
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Taxes and stamping fees must be rounded to the nearest whole dollar. The EFS will automatically calculate the taxes and fees for you based on the type of coverage and the premium amount.
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Make sure the insured's Home State (as defined in the surplus line law and the
federal NRRA law) is Illinois.
We have a helpful chart for making this
determination.
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If there is any primary personal lines auto or homeowners coverage, you probably need to place it with a residual market (Auto Plan,
FAIR Plan).
See Bulletin #25, paragraph 2c.
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Make sure that the insurer is properly identified on your policies and endorsements, and that it really is a surplus line insurer
in Illinois. If it is an Illinois Domestic Surplus Line Insurer,
there are a couple of special
procedures. The federal NRRA law and
applicable Illinois statutes set forth the insurer eligibility requirements for surplus line risks. Insurers domiciled in the U.S. must be licensed to write the subject insurance in their state of domicile and must have at least $15 million in policyholder surplus. Insurers domiciled outside of the U.S. must be on the
Quarterly Listing of
Alien Insurers published by the International Insurers Department (IID) of the
National Association
of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), or must meet the same standards applicable to insurers domiciled in the U.S.
Insurer financial data is available from market reporting agencies like
A.M. Best. Some insurer financial data is available on the NAIC's Consumer Insurance Search page.
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The following filings have some special procedures associated with them. Click on the item to learn more.
Lloyd's Policies
Mexican Auto / Tourist Policies
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Illinois does not have a list of "approved" or
"eligible" surplus line insurers. For eligibility
requirements, see #11, above.
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Illinois does not have an export list. For every
risk you place in the surplus line market, you must have 3
declinations from licensed insurers, unless the risk is exempt. There is no specific form upon which you must record your declinations for Illinois risks. For more specific information on declination requirements and your record-keeping responsibilities, see Regulation 2701.60 and Regulation 2701.50. You do not need to file your declinations with
the SLAI. The SLAI does not have the facility to assist with market searches.
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You will be billed monthly for stamping
fees and your stamping fee checks should be mailed to the Association's
address as shown on the invoice.
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Tax forms and tax payments are due
twice a year.
Just like with your personal IRS 1040 form, you must file your tax statement, on
time, even if you don't owe any money. Although the SLAI prepares and
mails tax forms to members, if for some reason you do not receive it, it is
still your responsibility to hunt it down and get it filed on time (contact us for copies).
Tax statement forms and payments, by law, are based on filings with the
Association during the preceding six month period (for Surplus Line tax) or
twelve month period (for Fire Marshal tax). Never manually
alter these forms without first contacting the
Association.
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Do not send tax forms/payments to the SLAI.
Tax forms and payments are sent to the Department of Insurance in
Springfield. The address is
on your tax forms. On the flipside, do not send your SLAI document
filings or stamping fee payments to the Department of Insurance!
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Did we already mention that you should
READ the Procedures Manual?
Really. It's short. It's entertaining. You'll laugh,
you'll cry, you'll want to read it over and over again. Your friends
will be lining up to borrow it.
