ISO form and endorsement changes approved by individual states, June 1995

Rough Notes, Aug 1995 by Kowatch, Diana

The PF&M Companion is a service of the Policy, Form and Manual Analysis Service, published by the Rough Notes Company, Inc. Policy, Form and Manual Analysis (PF&M continually updated since 1929, is the personal, commercial and specialty policy and form analysis service provided by the Rough Notes Company. PF&M is available in paper, on disk in Three Part Harmony, and on CD-ROM through Silver Plume as Rough Notes. For more information on. this service call 800-428-4384.

PF&M Companion includes copyrighted material of Insurance Services Office, Inc. or ISO Commercial Risk Services, Inc. with its permission.;(C) Copyright, Insurance Services Office, Inc., 1995(C) Copyright ISO Commercial Risk Services, Inc., 1995.

OVERVIEW

The most significant number of approvals received recently have been in response to ISO's filings regarding the reintroduction of omitted language in the Business Auto and Truckers Coverage forms and to the Commercial Property changes pertaining to endorsements, manual rules and SCOPES changes. Listed below are those states that have made approvals and the effective dates of the approvals.

On an interesting related note, ISO has announced a pilot program for electronic delivery of ISO Circulars. At the present time, a limited number of insurers have been included in this pilot program. However, we look forward to the benefits of electronic delivery as this becomes available to all ISO customers.

COUNTRYWIDE

Commercial Property changes have been made to the rules, loss costs, forms, and SCOPES in many states. These changes include an increase of the base property damage deductible for buildings, personal property, spoilage, and builders risk from $250 to $500. A buy-back to the $250 is available. Optional deductibles have been amended to start at $1,000 instead of $500. Condominium Commercial Unit-Owners Optional Coverage Form CP 04 18 has been revised as follows: Changes in rates were filed to coincide with the increase in the base deductible from $250 to $500. The endorsement provides additional loss assessment coverage subject to a separate schedule and limit, but pays no more than $1,000 for an assessment due to the condominium association's policy deductible. The form has also been revised to allow for the insertion of a deductible for loss assessment.

Another major change in respect to SCOPES is as follows: The property protection class multipliers have been revised and will now base the multipliers on the building construction in addition to the protection class. The table for windstorm or hail percentage deductibles has been modified, to adjust the ranges of the amount of insurance at each location. This revision was made to complement the deductible changes. The rating examples appendix has been amended to reflect the above changes. We have listed these changes once in the countrywide and then in the state recaps, we have indicated those states which have approved and the approval date.

Revisions have been made to two Commercial Auto Forms, the Business Auto Coverage Form--CA 00 01 and Truckers Coverage Form--CA 00 12. These changes are to reintroduce policy language that had been previously approved but inadvertently omitted in the printing of the forms. This wording is found in Section II--Liability coverage, Part A, third paragraph, and should clarify that the insurer does not have the duty to defend any insured against a suit for bodily injury, property damage or covered pollution cost or expense to which this insurance does not apply. The italicized wording is what was omitted. We have listed these changes once in the countrywide and then in the state recaps, we have indicated those states which have approved and the approval date.

ALABAMA

See the countrywide explanation for a list of the five commercial property changes that have been approved for policies written on or after August 24, 1995.

See the overview section for an explanation on the reintroduction of omitted policy language in the Commercial Business Auto and Truckers Coverage Forms. This correction has been approved for policies written on or after February 1, 1995.

ALASKA

See the overview section for an explanation on the reintroduction of omitted policy language in the Commercial Business Auto and Truckers Coverage Forms. This correction has been approved for policies written on or after February 1, 1995.

ARIZONA

See the overview section for an explanation on the reintroduction of omitted policy language in the Commercial Business Auto and Truckers Coverage Forms. This correction has been approved for policies written on or after February 1, 1995.

ARKANSAS

The Nuclear Energy Liability Exclusion Endorsement--IL 00 21, mandatory with Commercial General Liability Policies, has been revised for all policies written on or after November 1, 1995, to make the endorsement applicable to the new UST--Underground Storage Tank Policy.

The commercial claims-made general liability policy program for underground storage tanks has been approved. This policy was developed in response to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) finalization of regulations on financial responsibility and subsequent requirements for the owners and operators of underground storage tanks. The new program is titled "Underground Storage Tank (UST) Policy Program."