Surplus lines or lloyds policy alert !
09-10-2018, 05:05 PM
#21
Like when he had a big reveal for the Rice Hauler story..............and it never was reported.
09-20-2018, 06:48 PM
#23
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My apologies for the delay, being retired allows me to extend my vacations.
First and foremost the thread was regarding Surplus Lines, but if y ou would like to know about the Total Dollar product there is nothing to hide. We are underwritten by an ADMITTED insurer which, as such, had been scrutinized by every State Insurance Department to make sure that policyholder surplus exists to pay claims. They, like every other insurer in the world purchase reinsurance. Where that reinsurance is purchased could be a Lloyds syndicate or could be from any number of reinsurers in the world. Currently it is backed by one of the largest reinsurers in the world.
State National carries a Financial Rating of A by AM Best, which is considered Excellent and a financial size rating of IX (AMBEST.COM) Additional great news about State National is that they were purchased by Markel at the end of 2017(markel-completes-acquisition-of-state-national-300558627.html). The Markel Corporation carries a rating of A Excellent and has a financial size rating of XV, which means its assets are $2B or better in surplus. This further strengthens the security of our product and we were excited for the news as well as to share it.
Now, back to the original point of this thread. Surplus lines policies are written on a NON-ADMITTED basis through carriers that are NOT protected by either your State Insurance Department nor the State Guaranty Fund. Should you monitor who backs your non-admitted policy and you are happy with their financial strength, maybe the Guaranty Fund is not a big deal, but you are also losing the protection of your State Insurance Department. Additionally, most states have laws that require our policy be written through an admitted carrier IF AVAILABLE, and they generally charge a surplus line tax that is to be paid to the state via a LICENSED SURPLUS LINES BROKER. Your broker has a responsibility to collect and pay that tax, and if they do not pay that tax, it is theft plain and simple.
In the end, Total Dollar has been the premier provider of admitted products in the Performance Powerboat Community for many years, and expect to be for many more. We are constantly monitoring trends in the industry and making sure we provide a stable platform for this community from both an insurance rate and coverage standpoint. We are the only ones that give a $50K Personal Accident which covers the insured's bodily injury or death should something happen to them on the water besides just damage to their boat.
Back to my original point--Check to make sure your premium tax on your surplus lines policy was paid, that your are dealing with a qualified Surplus Lines broker who is properly licensed in your state or at least prtnered with someone that is and anyone telling you not to share your policy information should be questioned on what are they hiding? We will never tell you that.
First and foremost the thread was regarding Surplus Lines, but if y ou would like to know about the Total Dollar product there is nothing to hide. We are underwritten by an ADMITTED insurer which, as such, had been scrutinized by every State Insurance Department to make sure that policyholder surplus exists to pay claims. They, like every other insurer in the world purchase reinsurance. Where that reinsurance is purchased could be a Lloyds syndicate or could be from any number of reinsurers in the world. Currently it is backed by one of the largest reinsurers in the world.
State National carries a Financial Rating of A by AM Best, which is considered Excellent and a financial size rating of IX (AMBEST.COM) Additional great news about State National is that they were purchased by Markel at the end of 2017(markel-completes-acquisition-of-state-national-300558627.html). The Markel Corporation carries a rating of A Excellent and has a financial size rating of XV, which means its assets are $2B or better in surplus. This further strengthens the security of our product and we were excited for the news as well as to share it.
Now, back to the original point of this thread. Surplus lines policies are written on a NON-ADMITTED basis through carriers that are NOT protected by either your State Insurance Department nor the State Guaranty Fund. Should you monitor who backs your non-admitted policy and you are happy with their financial strength, maybe the Guaranty Fund is not a big deal, but you are also losing the protection of your State Insurance Department. Additionally, most states have laws that require our policy be written through an admitted carrier IF AVAILABLE, and they generally charge a surplus line tax that is to be paid to the state via a LICENSED SURPLUS LINES BROKER. Your broker has a responsibility to collect and pay that tax, and if they do not pay that tax, it is theft plain and simple.
In the end, Total Dollar has been the premier provider of admitted products in the Performance Powerboat Community for many years, and expect to be for many more. We are constantly monitoring trends in the industry and making sure we provide a stable platform for this community from both an insurance rate and coverage standpoint. We are the only ones that give a $50K Personal Accident which covers the insured's bodily injury or death should something happen to them on the water besides just damage to their boat.
Back to my original point--Check to make sure your premium tax on your surplus lines policy was paid, that your are dealing with a qualified Surplus Lines broker who is properly licensed in your state or at least prtnered with someone that is and anyone telling you not to share your policy information should be questioned on what are they hiding? We will never tell you that.
10-02-2018, 11:06 AM
#24
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This is directed to the moderator that deleted my non-spam useful, and truthful post. Not sure what he's paying you, but you too will get burned in time........
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, why not ban me? He doesn't have that much power over you? Weak, very weak moderation.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, why not ban me? He doesn't have that much power over you? Weak, very weak moderation.
Last edited by Andy01; 10-02-2018 at 11:23 AM.
10-02-2018, 11:38 AM
#25
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I had wanted to avoid contributing to this thread since its original posting in April by Sy Goldberg. The reason being that the original posting contained many inaccuracies and was clearly started to spread misinformation, rather than serve as an informative contribution to readers. Further, a lack of interest and commentary led me to believe any contribution would simply go unnoticed. However, I have been writing high performance boat insurance for more than two decades through admitted and non-admitted carriers, and my expertise could clearly be used on this matter.
1. Non-Admitted Carriers represent a very large portion of the insurance premiums written here in the U.S. and abroad. Non-admitted carriers have to receive approval to write business in the U.S. and they must maintain large escrow accounts, as a means of demonstrating liquidity and providing a “guarantee fund” for their insureds. The non-admitted market is more capable of providing tailor made coverages, as they are able to offer terms and pricing to insureds without approval from the states they are doing business in. This allows for non-admitted markets to operate more nimbly and adjust to market conditions more freely.
2. What is Lloyd’s of London? Lloyd’s is the largest and longest standing insurance marketplace in the world. Lloyd’s is comprised of insurance syndicates that are conducting business on a global scale. These syndicates are comprised of household names, such as Travelers and CHUBB, along with some of the largest marine insurers in the world: Markel, Amlin, Brit, MunichRE, Navigators and Tokio Marine. Lloyd’s acts as a governing body for the syndicates and provides oversight on performance and profitability. Lloyd’s also acts as a reinsurance marketplace for many domestic, admitted insurers. Lloyd’s has never had a syndicate become insolvent. They maintain an A-Rating from AM Best.
3. Fronting Companies: Check out the website from State National and National Specialty: https://www.statenational.com/fronting/. In their own words, “Fronting is a contractual arrangement in which an insurances carrier allows policies to be issued in its name, with all or most of the risk reinsured by a third party”. In the instance of Sy Goldberg and the policy he is touting, 100% of the risk is reinsured through one of the syndicates I note above at Lloyd’s. They are 100% responsible for claim handling and settlement. Any attack on Lloyd’s or non-admitted markets would go against the company paying claims submitted under his own policy. It should be noted that I have no issue with the use of fronting companies or the use of Lloyd’s as a reinsurance marketplace, these are simply the facts surrounding the structure of this arrangement.
4. State Guarantee Funds: State Guarantee funds are meant to protect consumers from an insurer becoming insolvent. However, it should be noted that most guarantee funds come with a limit per policy holder, often $250,000, although this varies by state. It should also be noted that an insolvency would almost always be accompanied by a catastrophe in a geographic area. These guarantee funds are intended to protect lower value assets and would almost certainly be deployed to provide coverage to primary residences and other more “necessary” assets, before dispersing funds to cover damaged high performance vessels. Long story short, if you are banking on a guarantee fund then I wish you luck.
5. On an non-admitted policy, you will be charged surplus lines taxes and fees. These taxes and fees vary depending on the state they are filed in. The filing state will depend on vessel registration, mooring location or the residency of the insured. Often the overriding combination of these factors will determine the filing state. The placing broker will need to carry a resident or non-resident surplus lines license in the state the filing occurs in. Our insureds know how transparent we are about these fees and they are always filed with the appropriate state. Obviously, I am unable to speak on the practices of other agencies.
6. Price alone should not be the driver to a non-admitted market, but many other factors come into play when selecting an insurer. Differences in coverage, deductible levels, approval of operators, available navigation, reputation and many other reasons may lead an insured to select a non-admitted market or broker representing a non-admitted product.
My overall message to insureds has always been, do business with an agent you trust and one that represents a product they understand. Feel free to contact me directly with any other questions or comments you might have.
Devin Wozencraft
www.wozencraftinsurance.com
1. Non-Admitted Carriers represent a very large portion of the insurance premiums written here in the U.S. and abroad. Non-admitted carriers have to receive approval to write business in the U.S. and they must maintain large escrow accounts, as a means of demonstrating liquidity and providing a “guarantee fund” for their insureds. The non-admitted market is more capable of providing tailor made coverages, as they are able to offer terms and pricing to insureds without approval from the states they are doing business in. This allows for non-admitted markets to operate more nimbly and adjust to market conditions more freely.
2. What is Lloyd’s of London? Lloyd’s is the largest and longest standing insurance marketplace in the world. Lloyd’s is comprised of insurance syndicates that are conducting business on a global scale. These syndicates are comprised of household names, such as Travelers and CHUBB, along with some of the largest marine insurers in the world: Markel, Amlin, Brit, MunichRE, Navigators and Tokio Marine. Lloyd’s acts as a governing body for the syndicates and provides oversight on performance and profitability. Lloyd’s also acts as a reinsurance marketplace for many domestic, admitted insurers. Lloyd’s has never had a syndicate become insolvent. They maintain an A-Rating from AM Best.
3. Fronting Companies: Check out the website from State National and National Specialty: https://www.statenational.com/fronting/. In their own words, “Fronting is a contractual arrangement in which an insurances carrier allows policies to be issued in its name, with all or most of the risk reinsured by a third party”. In the instance of Sy Goldberg and the policy he is touting, 100% of the risk is reinsured through one of the syndicates I note above at Lloyd’s. They are 100% responsible for claim handling and settlement. Any attack on Lloyd’s or non-admitted markets would go against the company paying claims submitted under his own policy. It should be noted that I have no issue with the use of fronting companies or the use of Lloyd’s as a reinsurance marketplace, these are simply the facts surrounding the structure of this arrangement.
4. State Guarantee Funds: State Guarantee funds are meant to protect consumers from an insurer becoming insolvent. However, it should be noted that most guarantee funds come with a limit per policy holder, often $250,000, although this varies by state. It should also be noted that an insolvency would almost always be accompanied by a catastrophe in a geographic area. These guarantee funds are intended to protect lower value assets and would almost certainly be deployed to provide coverage to primary residences and other more “necessary” assets, before dispersing funds to cover damaged high performance vessels. Long story short, if you are banking on a guarantee fund then I wish you luck.
5. On an non-admitted policy, you will be charged surplus lines taxes and fees. These taxes and fees vary depending on the state they are filed in. The filing state will depend on vessel registration, mooring location or the residency of the insured. Often the overriding combination of these factors will determine the filing state. The placing broker will need to carry a resident or non-resident surplus lines license in the state the filing occurs in. Our insureds know how transparent we are about these fees and they are always filed with the appropriate state. Obviously, I am unable to speak on the practices of other agencies.
6. Price alone should not be the driver to a non-admitted market, but many other factors come into play when selecting an insurer. Differences in coverage, deductible levels, approval of operators, available navigation, reputation and many other reasons may lead an insured to select a non-admitted market or broker representing a non-admitted product.
My overall message to insureds has always been, do business with an agent you trust and one that represents a product they understand. Feel free to contact me directly with any other questions or comments you might have.
Devin Wozencraft
www.wozencraftinsurance.com
10-02-2018, 02:52 PM
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Great reply Devin and very informative and to the point.
A. I buy coverage from Non admitted carriers all the time. It is good paper if the company has solid A ratings and is properly capitalized. The whole issue on this topic is fear driven to steer business to one company.
NOTE: I know all the parties in this thread and consider them to be resources for insurance quotes.
B. Lloyds is a great company but the real issue none of the insurance reps discuss is claims made? How well does the carrier pay claims made by insured or is it notorious for denial of claims. For me it doesn't amount to a hill of beans if you have a HUUUGE claim policy limits or similar claim and the alleged A+ carrier denies coverage. I want to know that a company will pay on a claim? I know of at least two boating claims by this alleged A- company mentioned in this thread...wherein denial of coverage was the position taken on the pending claim. What the hell does that mean? It means you now need to retain coverage counsel to sue the carrier to pay or provide coverage for the claim either partial or complete. All of this out of pocket attorneys fees by the insured a eye opening nightmare to the lay person. So you never made a claim and when the feces hits the fan they tell you one reason or another it's not covered and your like what the hell? Yeah so much for them being an admitted carrier and listed and the like pffft.
READ your policy from front to back especially the exclusion parts and you might be shocked at how little you are covered and some sneaky exclusions. For example if your found to have alcohol in your system [greater than legal limit some say any alcohol] all coverage is null and void even if the fault is 100% the other parties.
Now one thing about requesting a declaration page strikes me as particularly asinine. No one needs a dec page they can do the work and quote without it.
If you have a current policy DO NOT provide the other company with the declaration page without redacting the prices paid for coverage. Your shopping for the best price and service if they are good they don't need the declaration page. Let each one of them provide you with the price and check bid them on both amounts of coverage and agreed value including separate quote for trailer. I have previously shopped my boat coverage to all three people on this thread and made a decision. Note: If boat is destroyed or totaled most policies won't pay you for the trailer...what is a trailer worth without a boat...nada nothing. Check your policy and discuss with your agent/broker.
Now all this bickering between the companies is nonsense as a consumer shop them out and don't believe disparaging remarks if anyone makes them about another company steer clear of that rhetoric. In the end you want the best company from a perspective of paying when a claim is made, agreed value, good coverage amounts and reasonable deductibles. Don't let insurance companies change the deductible to get you closer to a competitors price that is gamesmanship and bull chit.
Interesting thread I will disclose I am covered by Wozencraft insurance on all three of my boats. I did shop the policy to both the other parties in this thread and it wasn't even close in terms of coverage for the price. I don't take sides when it comes to quotes and business... friends are friends but business is business goes the cliché and life for that matter.
A. I buy coverage from Non admitted carriers all the time. It is good paper if the company has solid A ratings and is properly capitalized. The whole issue on this topic is fear driven to steer business to one company.
NOTE: I know all the parties in this thread and consider them to be resources for insurance quotes.
B. Lloyds is a great company but the real issue none of the insurance reps discuss is claims made? How well does the carrier pay claims made by insured or is it notorious for denial of claims. For me it doesn't amount to a hill of beans if you have a HUUUGE claim policy limits or similar claim and the alleged A+ carrier denies coverage. I want to know that a company will pay on a claim? I know of at least two boating claims by this alleged A- company mentioned in this thread...wherein denial of coverage was the position taken on the pending claim. What the hell does that mean? It means you now need to retain coverage counsel to sue the carrier to pay or provide coverage for the claim either partial or complete. All of this out of pocket attorneys fees by the insured a eye opening nightmare to the lay person. So you never made a claim and when the feces hits the fan they tell you one reason or another it's not covered and your like what the hell? Yeah so much for them being an admitted carrier and listed and the like pffft.
READ your policy from front to back especially the exclusion parts and you might be shocked at how little you are covered and some sneaky exclusions. For example if your found to have alcohol in your system [greater than legal limit some say any alcohol] all coverage is null and void even if the fault is 100% the other parties.
Now one thing about requesting a declaration page strikes me as particularly asinine. No one needs a dec page they can do the work and quote without it.
If you have a current policy DO NOT provide the other company with the declaration page without redacting the prices paid for coverage. Your shopping for the best price and service if they are good they don't need the declaration page. Let each one of them provide you with the price and check bid them on both amounts of coverage and agreed value including separate quote for trailer. I have previously shopped my boat coverage to all three people on this thread and made a decision. Note: If boat is destroyed or totaled most policies won't pay you for the trailer...what is a trailer worth without a boat...nada nothing. Check your policy and discuss with your agent/broker.
Now all this bickering between the companies is nonsense as a consumer shop them out and don't believe disparaging remarks if anyone makes them about another company steer clear of that rhetoric. In the end you want the best company from a perspective of paying when a claim is made, agreed value, good coverage amounts and reasonable deductibles. Don't let insurance companies change the deductible to get you closer to a competitors price that is gamesmanship and bull chit.
Interesting thread I will disclose I am covered by Wozencraft insurance on all three of my boats. I did shop the policy to both the other parties in this thread and it wasn't even close in terms of coverage for the price. I don't take sides when it comes to quotes and business... friends are friends but business is business goes the cliché and life for that matter.
