News
NAIC releases 2021-22 auto insurance report
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has released the 2021–2022 Auto Insurance Database Report. The report provides information based on data through year-end for the years 2021 and 2022. The data is the most current compilation of automobile insurance costs throughout the United States. The national combined average premium per issued vehicle was $1,258, a 5.75% increase from 2021 to 2022. By comparison, the combined average premium per issued vehicle in 2022 for the states in PIA Northeast’s footprint, were as follows: Connecticut: $1,374.02 (an increase of 2.65%); New Hampshire: $915.15 (an increase of 3.92%); New Jersey: $1,522.89 (an increase of 3.18%); New York: $1,676.31 (an increase of 3.21%); and Vermont: $854.05 (an increase of 0.94%).
N.Y.: Warm temperatures could trigger ice jam flooding
New York state is urging its residents to prepare for potential flooding due to warm temperatures and rainfall, continuing through today. Temperatures started increasing across the state on Tuesday—in some areas, the temperature has risen to close to 60 degrees. Higher-than-normal temperatures combined with up to an inch of rainfall may result in localized flooding and elevated river flows with some ice jams, especially on creeks and streams in Western and northern Central New York. Make sure your clients are prepared: Have you explained to your clients that flooding isn’t covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy? For PIA Northeast members who are looking for help on how to answer their clients’ questions about flood insurance, they can access the PIA Flood Insurance Tool Kit.
Compliance
N.Y.: Risk retention placement reports due March 15
New York State Insurance Law Section 5904 requires producers placing New York state business with risk retention groups not chartered in the state to report this business by Saturday, March 15, 2025. To comply with the law, if a business has been placed with a risk retention group not chartered in New York, the producer of record is required to report such business on the Statement of Business Placed with Risk Retention Groups not Chartered in New York form. This form is due no later than March 15 of each year.
Advocacy
PIACT testimony: Flood disclosure and dog breed bills
Recently, PIACT provided written testimony to the Connecticut General Assembly Environment Committee and Connecticut General Assembly Insurance and Real Estate Committee to offer insight into a flood disclosure bill (S.B.1245) and a dog breed bill (S.B.1386), respectively. PIACT opposes S.B.1245—which would require various stakeholders to provide increased disclosures regarding flood risks and insurance options—because these disclosures would be unnecessary, duplicative and could impose unintended consequences on insurance producers and consumers. Additionally, the association does not have a formal stance on S.B.1386, which would prohibit insurance companies from using a dog’s breed as the factor in underwriting homeowners and tenants insurance policies. However, PIACT offered the Insurance and Real Estate Committee technical corrections to close potential loopholes that could undermine its effectiveness.
N.J.: Bill to limit NDAs reported out of committee
A bill (S-1688) that was reported out of New Jersey’s Senate Labor Committee would further restrict the use of nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements in employment contracts—particularly in cases involving discrimination, retaliation or harassment. For agency owners who employ staff, this proposed bill could impact how workplace disputes are handled and settled significantly, and they should pay close attention for what this means for them.
N.Y.: Priority bill to address anti-arson requirement passes Assembly
PIANY achieved a significant legislative goal when A.112 was passed by the New York state Assembly on March 3, 2025. This marks a major step toward repealing the outdated anti-arson application requirement in New York City. This long-standing regulation—first introduced in the late 1970s—has become an unnecessary administrative burden for property owners and insurers. With Assembly approval now secured, PIANY is one step closer to modernizing New York state’s insurance laws.
Technical
Navigating the wholesale marketplace amid a hard market
As the symptoms of the hard market endure, independent insurance agents may find themselves relying on wholesalers and the excess-and-surplus-lines market more due to market conditions. Effectively using the wholesale marketplace includes knowing that it has some uniqueness that agents must understand and account for. Putting specific processes and procedures into place can help minimize the potential for errors-and-omissions problems. To learn more about this subject, PIA Northeast members can access When using wholesalers, you don’t want to assume in the PIA QuickSource library.
N.J./N.Y.: February ACORD forms update
In the latest ACORD forms update, ACORD 132 NJ, New Jersey Workers Compensation Insurance Plan, Notes and Instructions (Coverage Request Form), and ACORD 133 NJ, New Jersey Workers Compensation Insurance Plan, Coverage Request Form, are revised with an effective date of March 1, 2025. In addition, new countrywide form ACORD 65 NY, New York Auto Supplement–Spousal Liability Insurance Declination Form, is revised effective Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
NJIUA introduces replacement administration system
The New Jersey Insurance Underwriting Association has been in the design and testing stage of a new policy administration system to replace the 30-year-old Infinity legacy system. The new system is called FINYS/Innovative, and it will have a look and feel that is much different than the existing portal, but it will have several new features that should be helpful to users. The expected date of implementation is the first week in April. One-hour training on the basics of the new system is being offered. If interested, provide your preference for the following sessions to smutterperl@njiua.org: Friday, March 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., and 1:30 p.m.; Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at 10 a.m., and 2 p.m.; Friday, March 21, 2025, at 10 a.m., and 1:30 p.m.; and Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at 10 a.m., and 2 p.m.
NYCIRB redesigns NYCPAP
The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board has redesigned the New York Construction Classification Premium Adjustment Program for eligible policies with effective dates on and after Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. The redesigned CPAP will address the issues inherent in the current program by 1. replacing the employer application with the submission of CPAP data during the premium audit process to encourage program participation; 2. enabling carriers to estimate CPAP credits prior to policy quotation by using the rating board’s CPAP Estimator application; 3. using employee wage information from the policy period at issue to derive CPAP credits; 4. benchmarking the wage/credit table against New York state prevailing wage to ensure that high wage paying employers receive the credit that they deserve; and 5. differentiating credits by class code to recognize that a high wage in one construction trade may not be considered a high wage in another construction trade.
Educating insurance agents
Conn./N.J./N.Y.: Two back-to-back courses, on flood and ethics
Get ready for a full morning of insurance education next week with instructor Mishell K. Magnusson, CIC, CISR, CPIA, AAI, FIPC. On Thursday, March 13, 2025, she will lead NFIP—What is a Flood? from 9:30-10:30 a.m., and Ethics and Professionalism from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. The former course is a basic agent training course for Federal Emergency Management Agency agent certification, and the latter will provide guidance for an agent’s ethical responsibilities. NFIP—What is a Flood has been approved for CE credits in Connecticut (1 LRE), New Jersey (1 ETH) and New York (1 BR, C1, C3, LA, LB, LSB, PA, PC, TIA). Ethics and Professionalism has been approved for CE credits in Connecticut (1 LRE), New Jersey (1 ETH) and New York (1 BR, C1, C3, LA, LB, LSB, PA, PC, TIA). The classes satisfy New York state’s mandatory one-hour requirement per licensing period for flood insurance and ethics and professionalism, respectively.
Events
Have you registered for the CTYIP Welcome Reception?
The night before PIACT’s Annual Convention, plan to attend the CTYIP Welcome Reception on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. This reception will be held at the High Rollers Luxury Lanes, in Ledyard, Conn. Have some fun with your peers as you network and bowl the night away: there’s will be a prize for the player with highest score across all games, so bring your best! Register for the CTYIP Welcome Reception today. Also remember to register for the PIACT Connecticut Convention, which will be held March 20-21, 2025, at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
ICYMI
Filing deadline extended for Corporate Transparency Act
For independent insurance agents who are affected by the Corporate Transparency Act, there is an important update for the law. The federal district court of the Eastern District of Texas previously had filed an injunction against the CTA. The court now has reinstated the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements as outlined in the law. Because of this, the FinCEN is allowing for a deadline extension by 30 calendar days from Feb. 19, 2025, for most companies, since the Department of the Treasury recognizes that reporting companies now may need additional time to comply with their BOI reporting obligations. This means that for most reporting companies, the new deadline to file an initial, updated and/or corrected BOI report is now Friday, March 21, 2025. More information about the CTA can be found in Corporate Transparency Act, which PIA members can find in the PIA QuickSource library.
PIACT testifies on bill that would ease E&S requirements
PIACT Treasurer Katie Bailey, CPIA, ACSR, CLCS; PIACT past President James Berliner, CPCU; PIACT Member Ray Chase; and PIACT Director of Government & Industry Affairs Bradford J. Lachut, Esq., testified last Thursday before the Connecticut General Assembly Insurance and Real Estate Committee in support of H.B.6981, which is a legislative priority for the association. The bill would reform surplus-lines insurance placement by removing the diligent-effort requirement. Under current Connecticut law, retail insurance brokers must obtain declinations from at least three licensed insurers before placing coverage in the E&S market. H.B.6981 would remove the due-diligence requirement for placing risks in the nonadmitted marketplace when done through an unaffiliated surplus-lines broker.
N.Y.: PIANY pushes to protect consumers from predatory litigation financing, bill passes Senate
Recently, PIANY has recognized the strong need to support S.1104/A.3225, the Consumer Litigation Funding Act, which would introduce critical regulations to protect consumers from predatory litigation financing. PIANY supports this common-sense, bi-partisan legislation, which was reported out of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee (7-0) on Feb. 12, 2025. On March 3, 2025, the bill passed the Senate (61-0) and is now delivered to the Assembly.
Register now
Thursday, March 13, 2025: PIACT/CTYIP Legislative Reception
Wednesday, March 19, 2025: Connecticut Convention Welcome Reception
March 20-21, 2025: Connecticut Convention—
Interested in sponsoring, advertising or exhibiting? Click here.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025: NY-YIP Pre I-Day Happy Hour
Wednesday, March 26, 2025: Buffalo I-Day
Wednesday, May 7, 2025: NJYIP Golf Open
Thursday, May 22, 2025: PIANJ Women’s Leadership Alliance Pickleball Tournament and Networking
June 8-10, 2025: PIANJ | PIANY Annual Conference—
Interested in sponsoring, advertising or exhibiting? Click here.
Tuesday, June 10, 2025: YIP Fun Run
Tuesday, June 17, 2025: CTYIP Golf Open
Tuesday, June 17, 2025: PIWA Spring Reception
Thursday, July 24, 2025: NJYIP Summer Breeze Bash
Save the date
Tuesday, May 13, 2025: Albany Lobby Day
Sunday, June 8, 2025: NJYIP Nitecap
Monday, Aug. 11, 2025: NY-YIP Annual Golf Outing
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025: NY-YIP Albany Fall Soiree
Monday, Sept. 29, 2025: PIANJ with WLA Golf Classic
Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025: CTYIP Gala
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025: NJYIP Holiday Reception
