Annotations to Surplus Lines Statutes has been a standard desktop reference book for lawyers, insurers, and brokers for decades. The book comprehensively sets forth with commentary the surplus lines statutes of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The new 466-page sixth edition is the product of a multi-year collaboration of nine prominent contributors. It provides thorough and current state law information, integrating changes rendered by the states after the passage of the federal Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) in 2010.
Each state has its own chapter, which begins by conveying details of the state’s insurance department. Each chapter then includes discussions of non-admitted insurer eligibility and insurer lists, the types of coverage eligible for export, and what transactions are exempt from the surplus lines law. Suits, including service of process and filing requirements, follow.
The chapters each include information primarily needed by surplus lines brokers and agents, primary producers, and their insureds. The authors cover, for example, agent filing requirements, broker duties in searching for admitted capacity and in selecting non-admitted insurers, mandatory notices to insureds, and taxes and fees. They also cover exemption provisions including provisions influenced by the NRRA, such as the NRRA’s definition of exempt commercial purchasers (15 U.S.C. § 8201).
So if your area of practice touches upon nonadmitted insurers or surplus lines brokers, the physically attractive Sixth Edition of Annotations To Surplus Lines Statutes likely deserves a place on your bookshelf. The comprehensive information within it can be cobbled together separately but with considerable effort. Why not simply have it within arm’s length?
