UPDATE: All of you that warned against CIBA were correct. Last week CIBA announced a huge rate increase for hundreds, possibly thousands of customers, mostly between 30% and 45% rate increases over expiring premiums, even raising prices to customers that had no claims. Making matters worse, they pro...

InsuranceQuestions.Com is relatively new, currently less traffic than IJ but more user friendly and detailed, all free and open to the public, has great insurance terms dictionary, free insurance job postings, and allows no advertising. The insurance industry definately needs a good public forum for...

With all due respect, the question was asked and posted twice already. See posts dated 12-19-07 and 12-27-07. Please also note that the definition of a "non-admitted insurer" proffered by csr@rant, without citation, is contradicted by the expressed language of CIC section 25: " Nonadm...

Typically, the risk is where the owner of a property does not occupy it but instead leases it to another (i.e., to a tenant). Even though the owner isn't at the property, there may be some control or vicarious liability that exposes the owner to risk of loss through liability to third parties. The m...

Thanks for suggesting that I contact DOI, SLA, NAPSLO and lawyers. The DOI was asked months ago, verbally and in writing, but they never answered. Several lawyers that specialize in the field were also asked, but they couldn't answer the question either. Likewise, none of the people that read this f...

There is good social value to the non-admitted marketplace, it is meant to provide an alternative of last resort for people that can't find insurance through "authorized" insurers. Also, my use of the term " unauthorized insurance " was to be synonymous with " nonadmitted in...

Thanks csr@ramt, but Insurance Journal maintains this forum publicly, making its website much better than the SLA's. The SLA's website fails to answer my question and it provides no means for public discussion on the subject. Like the California DOI, I believe that the SLA is motivated by self-servi...

Thanks for the suggestion LadyBroker. The question is, is there any statute or case that provides an exemption to CIC Sections 41 and 1861.13 for unauthorized insurance transactions? My impression of the DOI is that it is a political bureaucracy, motivated by what may or may not get the attention of...

Dear InsKid: With respect to the business of insurance, you are correct in saying that it is " interstate commerce ," but you are wrong to assume that it is not governed by state law. Federal acts that do not expressly purport to regulate the "business of insurance" will not pree...

NDA: You offered good comments, and your observation that some statutes expressly apply to only "authorized" or "admitted" insurers is correct. In fact, that type of specific reference establishes the foundation for the public and the judiciary to know that lawmakers were aware o...

They were downgraded again last week. According to ambest.com, " The downgrades reflect BAIC's immediate parent's, National Farm Financial Corporation (NFFC) (San Bruno, CA), filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court on December 5, 2007. The filing for protection is in respon...

Thanks for trying, but those answers are all too vague to be of any practical use. The law is specifically defined by the statutes, adopted by the people of California or by the legislature, not by the opinion of the Commissioner, the SLA or any other person. Nonadmitted policies are enforced in Cal...

Can any of you technical folks out there tell me where in California's Insurance Code does it say that Surplus Lines premium rates are exempt from the filing requirements of Proposition 103, CIC Section 1861.05(b)? Do the statutes require companies like Scottsdale to file their rates in California? ...