In this section...
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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, "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.
When using EFS, the confirmation page will include the appropriate wording.
When filing on paper or using EFS (but not printing 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. If you file electronically, the EFS will 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 Information
Source (CIS) 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. 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 Association does not have the facility to assist with
market searches. The federal NRRA
law has created the
Exempt Commercial Purchaser category. Provided you comply with
certain requirements, you
do not need to get 3 declinations when obtaining surplus line insurance for
these insureds.
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Do not send checks
with your document filings. 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 taxes, 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 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.