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Westmont Wire

DELAWARE FORM FILING FEE CAP: Bill Passes Senate in Waning Hour of 2019 Session

Past midnight on July 1, 2019, the Delaware State Senate unanimously passed House Bill 242, which imposes a $2000 cap on form filing fees per insurer in the filing. HB 242 had been approved in the House the previous Thursday. The legislation will take effect upon signing by the Governor, which could take several weeks as the Secretary of the Senate sends bills to the Governor’s desk in daily batches over the course of the summer. Westmont Associates will monitor the status of this legislation.

HB 242 was the result of extensive discussions between industry representatives and the Delaware Department of Insurance, with feedback from staff at Westmont Associates. It is designed to give Delaware domiciled insurers relief from high retaliatory fee expenses in other states.

HB 242 may be viewed at the link below:

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?legislationId=47791 

Florida Passes Surplus Lines Modernization Package

On June 18, 2019, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 301 into law, implementing two major changes to Florida’s surplus lines regulations. First, HB 301 lifts the $35 cap on surplus lines agent policy fees, instead only requiring the fee to be reasonable. The agent fees must be disclosed to the consumer before purchase and separately stated in the policy. Next, the bill revises the types of residential property that require only one declination instead of the standard three declinations to obtain surplus lines insurance from properties valued at $1,000,000 or more to properties valued at $700,000 or more. This will allow more homeowners to access the surplus lines market. HB 301 takes effect on July 1, 2019.
For any questions regarding House Bill 301, or for surplus lines regulatory inquiries, please contact Westmont Associates, Inc.

DELAWARE INSURANCE DEPARTMENT: FORM FILING FEE CAP LEGISLATION INTRODUCED

At the request of industry representatives and with feedback provided by the staff at Westmont Associates, the Delaware Department of Insurance had House Bill 242 introduced in the General Assembly on June 20, 2019, which if enacted will cap form filing fees at $2000 per insurer in the filing. There are four legislative days left in the 2019 session, so the bill likely will not make it to the Senate floor until the last day, Sunday, June 30th. Delaware domiciled insurers had requested relief from high retaliatory fee expenses incurred in other states.

HB 242 may be viewed at the link below:

https://legis.delaware.gov/Search?searchTerm=hb%20242&assemblyId=150


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