As we embark upon a new decade, the surplus lines insurance market has never been stronger.  Growth in specialty products and demand for insurance protection in an increasingly dynamic, technological climate has continued to drive excess and surplus lines business. In many cases, these changes have resulted in a new, “fresh” look at many of the statutory and regulatory standards, restrictions and allowances applicable to surplus lines insureds, brokers and insurers alike.
Read More Surplus Lines Insurance: 20 FAQs for 2020

The insurance industry experienced significant and varied forms of new legislation and regulation during the last decade. Below, we highlight what we view as the top 10 of these legal and regulatory changes.
Read More Top 10 Insurance Laws And Regulations Of The Decade

Jon Biasetti (Chicago) led a Locke Lord team representing Oscar, a tech-driven health insurance company, in a joint venture with Cigna, a leading global health service company. Cigna and Oscar will jointly provide fully insured health benefits under the Cigna + Oscar brand to the small group market, and share risk thereon through reinsurance.
Read More Locke Lord Assists Oscar Health in Joint Venture with Cigna

New York Regulatory and Transactional Insurance Partner Zachary Lerner primarily focuses on helping insurance companies and intermediaries (increasingly in the nonadmitted or “surplus lines” market) buy and sell each other and develop legally compliant business practices.
Read More NextGen Q&A Series – Zachary Lerner

One substantial area of ambiguity that permeates the surplus lines industry throughout the United States relates to the applicability of state law to surplus lines insurance carriers and brokers. This week, the Excess Line Association of New York (“ELANY”) published its “Compliance Advisor” intending, in part, to shed light on applicability of various New York statutes and regulations to the excess (surplus) lines market.
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 21): Excess Line Association of New York Publishes “Compliance Advisor” Detailing Applicability of Various Laws to Excess (Surplus) Lines Market

On January 9 from noon-1:00 p.m. CT, Locke Lord LLP and Novarica will look at new regulatory developments in analytics, use of data, and data security that have the potential to affect insurer technology strategy. This webinar covers the similarities and differences between NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation and NAIC Data Security Model Law, the recent updates to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, and the potential innovation opportunities and limitations surrounding insurance regulatory sandboxes.
Read More Webinar: Insurance IT Strategy and Regulatory Compliance–NYDFS, NAIC and CCPA

Following comments by interested parties, including the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) and the Excess Line Association of New York (ELANY), at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Fall National Meeting in Austin, Texas, the Surplus Lines Task Force tabled its new Blanks proposal regarding home state direct premium written.
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 20): UPDATE: NAIC Surplus Lines Task Force Tables Blanks Proposal for Home State Direct Premiums Written

Locke Lord corporate and regulatory insurance Partners Brian Casey and Ben Sykes will host an open organizational conference call for insurtechs and those interested in how insurtechs will be regulated going forward. The goal is to present a united voice for addressing the regulatory and legal challenges related to the adoption of new technologies-driven changes precipitated by insurtech businesses challenging and reforming insurance products, underwriting, distribution and claims models.
Read More Open Teleconference for the formation of InsurTech America, a coalition available to U.S.-based and non U.S.-based Insurtech companies transacting business in the U.S.

On November 26th, Maine issued Bulletin 439 (the “Bulletin”) which provides, in granular detail, the criteria for placing insurance through the surplus lines market in the state. The Bulletin has received immediate and substantial attention within the surplus lines industry both for its thoroughness as well as its deviation, in some respects, from the expectations of other states.
Read More LL Surplus Lines Series (Entry 19): Bulletin Issued Detailing Robust Surplus Lines Standards in Maine