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.

On June 17th, the Excess Lines Association of New York (“ELANY”) published Bulletin No. 2019-19 (the “Bulletin”) detailing New York’s substantial restrictions on group property and casualty insurance policies. The Bulletin echoes some of the remarks at the most recent Surplus Lines Law Group Meeting where this author provided details on the growing regulatory concerns as to group P&C policies.
Read More Locke Lord QuickStudy: Excess Lines Association of New York Publishes Guidance on New York Group P&C Policies

On June 10, 2019, Governor Phil Scott of Vermont signed Senate Bill 131 (the “Bill”) into law, permitting domestic surplus line insurers to offer and sell surplus lines insurance under a surplus lines certificate of authority in the state.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and as mentioned in our previous post found here, Nevada passed similar legislation earlier this month.
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 11): Vermont authorizes Domestic Surplus Lines Insurers; Standardizes Premium Tax rates; Repeals SLIMPACT

Add Nevada to the growing list of states that have adopted domestic surplus lines legislation. Senate Bill 86 (the “Bill”) was signed into law on June 1, 2019, with most provisions effective October 1, 2019. Of perhaps most significance Is that Nevada will now allow for insurance companies to domesticate in Nevada for the exclusive purpose of writing surplus lines insurance coverage within the state and potentially elsewhere.
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 10): Nevada Joins List of Domestic Surplus Lines Insurer States; Revises Broker Fee Statute; Other Changes

Earlier this month, Florida passed House Bill 301 to remove the cap on the amount of fees that may be charged by a surplus lines broker in connection with the procurement of surplus lines insurance for a prospective insured. Instead of the old cap of a maximum of $35 per policy, surplus lines brokers will be able to charge any fee that is “reasonable” and disclosed to the insured in advance.
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 9): Florida and California Make News on Broker and Agent Fees

Cancellation and nonrenewal requirements applicable to insurance policies exist in every state in the nation. These laws and regulations are founded on the principle that insurance customers should be protected against losing insurance coverage without proper notice and without good reason. As such, many states require that mid-term cancellation of an insurance policy only be effectuated for specific statutorily-defined reasons, and that sufficient advance notice must be given to the insured prior to the cancellation or nonrenewal of an insurance policy.
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 7): Applicability of Cancellation and Nonrenewal Requirements to Surplus Lines Insurers and recent updates (Attorney Analysis)

The Surplus Lines Law Group held its spring meeting on Friday, April 5 in Biloxi, Mississippi. A number of presentations were given at the meeting, including updates on the trends around the nation with respect to the diligence search requirement, international tax and cybersecurity issues, as well as a presentation by this author as to the challenges surrounding placing group insurance coverage on a surplus lines basis (including unique hurdles applicable to risk purchasing groups).
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 5): 2019 WSIA Spring Surplus Lines Law Group Meeting Recap and Summary of Trends

One of the hallmarks of surplus lines regulation throughout the United States is the “diligent search” requirement whereby the surplus lines broker (or retail producer) must attempt to place insurance coverage in the admitted market before exporting such coverage to an eligible, unauthorized surplus lines insurer.
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 2): New York to Consider Elimination of Diligent Search Requirement for Certain Commercial Policies