This year, one of the Florida Surplus Lines Association's (FSLA) main objectives was to eliminate the due diligence requirement for those commercial lines coverages that have been deregulated as to a rate approval by the Office of Insurance Regulation. In 2010, a number of commercial lines risks had been deregulated as to rate, and in 2011 the trades, and in particular the American Institute of Architects, proposed to run the gamut of coverages with the exception of personal lines insurance. The proposed legislation had no real opposition from any quarter and in fact was endorsed by most insurance trade and business organizations. 

With that development, FSLA desired to eliminate the need for due diligence for those same lines. We were fortunate to be partnered in that effort by the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, whose members equally wanted to eliminate the requirement for the same lines. The "due diligence" bill had no apparent opposition and is generally not unique to Florida, as many states have exempted the need for due diligence in varying degrees, especially for industrial insureds. 

Changes Effective in July and October
The new law took effect July 1, 2011, for those commercial lines that were previously deregulated, and on Oct. 1, 2011, for the new lines incorporated in the 2011 bill. We believe that the new disclosures provided by the bill are better because the insureds know up front that they are purchasing coverage in the surplus lines market and agree to it. That in turn provides more protection for the agent and for the company.