Photo of Zachary Lerner

Zach chairs the firm's Insurance Transactional + Regulatory Practice Group and advises clients on their insurance M&A deals and key compliance matters. His experience ranges from cross-border transactions and insurtech compliance to surplus lines regulatory matters.

Please join us on our next InsurTech Legal Academy webinar for key topics addressing what InsurTechs need to know about U.S. payment laws in the everchanging payment systems environment. This webinar will include an overview of federal and state laws governing payment systems and insurance-related transactions – including real-time payment rails, Regulation E, Regulation Z, Nacha, OFAC, anti-money laundering, insurance premium trust accounts, insurance premium financing, credit/debit card convenience fees or surcharges, and state money transmitter licensing requirements. Speakers will include members of Troutman Pepper Locke’s consumer finance and insurance regulatory teams.

Read More Join Us for Our Next InsurTech Legal Academy Webinar: Regulation of Payments for InsurTechs

Welcome to the 26th edition of the Troutman Pepper Locke LLP Excess and Surplus Lines Law Manual. Updated for 2026, this edition reflects all of the pertinent changes in the surplus lines laws and regulations of the 50 states and U.S. territories during the past year. You can use the links below to download a complete PDF of the manual or navigate directly to specific state or territory updates on our website. 

Read More 2026 Excess and Surplus Lines Law Manual

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our Weekly Surplus Lines Update Portal, a comprehensive subscription service designed to help surplus lines carriers and brokers stay ahead of regulatory developments across all 50 states and U.S. territories. Navigating the surplus lines marketplace requires constant vigilance, and this portal delivers

Read More Now Available: Surplus Lines Update Portal – Weekly Subscription

In the fourth episode of our Surplus Lines 360 series, John Emmanuel and Zachary Lerner discuss why using surplus lines insurance to satisfy state financial responsibility requirements can be problematic and varies by state, and why newer rideshare laws provide clarity that traditional commercial auto insurance lacks.

Read More Financial Responsibility in the Surplus Lines Market

This article was originally published on Insurance Business UK and is republished here with permission as it originally appeared on December 23, 2025.

It’s a tale as old as time: A U.S. insurance broker wants to place bespoke coverage for its U.S. client. Sometimes, it’s a layer within a commercial tower. Perhaps there are some participating admitted (licensed) U.S. carriers, mixed in with an array of eligible surplus lines insurers. But alas, satisfying all layers through the admitted and surplus lines markets proves allusive, so the broker approaches an unauthorized carrier in Bermuda, a European country, or another non-U.S. jurisdiction. It makes sense, right? The broker tried its best to find coverage another way, and it wants to do right by its client.

Read More UK, Bermuda and EU Markets: For US Business, Ditch Direct Procurement, Go Surplus Lines