The California Insurance Department has approved the use of American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) manual rules and prospective loss costs for commercial inland marine filed classes. The approval marks completion of AAIS's first manual filing in California since the state legislature last year reversed a ban on advisory organization manual filings. The ban dated from the 1988 vote approving Proposition 103, a referendum that mandated cuts in auto insurance premiums and other insurance measures.
According to Deborah Summerlin, vice president for insurance lines, it is not clear how approval of AAIS filings in California will affect affiliates. The department has not authorized companies to adopt advisory organization filings without substantiating the degree to which advisory loss costs will impact a company's rate level.
AAIS will issue a bulletin updating California filing requirements if the department introduces procedures for adopting advisory loss costs.
North Dakota
Fargo agent receives national award
Phil Trebnick, vice president of Baker Insurance in Fargo, was presented an Award of Academic Excellence in the Insurance Institute of America's (IIA) the Associate in Underwriting program during a national awards ceremony in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
The award is given each year to the persons who earn the highest grade of averages for the national essay examinations in the institute program.
Trebnick joined Baker Insurance in 1984 as producer and was promoted to his current position in 1986. Previously he worked for GAB Business Services as manager. He earned his Associate in Claims (AIC) designation in 1974 and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation in 1992. In 1990 he earned the Charter Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) professional designation from the American Institute. He currently serves as a state director of the IIA of North Dakota.
California
Travelers applies to provide individual auto
Travelers Property Casualty Corp. has filed with the California Insurance Department to enter the state's individual automobile insurance market. Under terms of the application, Travelers will set up two wholly-owned subsidiaries--TravCal Indemnity and TravCal Secure--in Rancho Cordova to write auto business in the state beginning September 1.
TravCal Indemnity will write auto business through Travelers Property Casualty's 225 licensed independent agents in California, and TravCal Secure will write business through approximately 900 Secure (Primerica Financial Services) agents, also licensed in the state.
Initially TravCal will write only individual auto policies. Travelers homeowners business in California will also move to TravCal, beginning in January 1999.
Grange cuts off coverage on older mobile homes
Seattle-based Grange Insurance Association has announced that it will no longer provide coverage for mobile homes built before 1987. Grange cited a loss ratio of 150% on such business.
Montana
IIAM convention scheduled
The 66th Annual Convention of the Independent Insurance Agents of Montana (IIAM) will be held August 10-12, 1997, at the Outlaw Inn in Kalispell.
Attendees can earn eight hours of continuing education credits and can gain insights into current issues on a state and national level during general session programming.
Cost of registration for members is $190; non-members can register for $215; spouses or family/friend of registrant, $135.
For more information regarding the IIAM convention, call: (406) 442-9555; fax: 406-442-8263; e-mail: iiamt@initco.net.
Washington
USL&H legislation signed into law
Washington Governor Gary Locke has signed a bill to repeal the sunset date on Washington's U.S. Longshore and Harbor Workers' Assigned Risk Plan (USL&H).
HB 2098 (Rep. Les Thomas, R-Kent) repealed the USL&H program's July 1 expiration date, making the program permanent. The original 1992 bill contained a one-year sunset clause and required a committee comprised of three IBA West members to submit annual recommendations to the Legislature for continuing the program.
"The plan is successful and worked better than we ever expected," said member Dale Newell of Parker, Smith & Feek, Seattle, who added that both the committee and Pacific Northwest Lobbyist Steve Wehrly were instrumental in passage of the bill. *