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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 792
2025-2026
Representatives Thomas, J., Thomas,
D.
To
amend section 3905.33 and to enact section 3905.333 of the Revised
Code
regarding
surplus lines insurers.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section 3905.33 be amended and section 3905.333 of the Revised Code
be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
3905.33.
(A)
No person licensed under section 3905.30 of the Revised Code shall
solicit, procure an application for, bind, issue, renew, or deliver a
policy with any insurer that is not eligible to write insurance on an
unauthorized basis in this state.
Pursuant
to the "Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2010," 15
U.S.C. 8201 et seq., 124 Stat. 1589, or any successor or replacement
law, where this state is the home state of the insured, an insurer
shall be considered eligible to write insurance on an unauthorized
basis in this state if any of the following are true:
(1)
The insurer meets the requirements and criteria in sections 5A(2) and
5C(2)(a) of the nonadmitted insurance model act adopted by the
national association of insurance commissioners, or alternative
nationwide uniform eligibility requirements adopted by this state
through participation in a compact or other nationwide system
pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 8201 et seq., 124 Stat. 1589.
(2)
For unauthorized insurance placed with, or procured from an
unauthorized insurer domiciled outside the United States, the insurer
is listed on the quarterly listing of alien insurers maintained by
the international insurers department of the national association of
insurance commissioners.
(3)
The insurer has been designated as a domestic surplus lines insurer
pursuant to section 3905.332 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1)
No
Except
as provided in section 3905.333 of the Revised Code, no
surplus
lines broker shall solicit, procure, place, or renew any insurance
with an unauthorized insurer unless an agent or the surplus lines
broker has complied with the due diligence requirements of this
section and is unable to procure the requested insurance from an
authorized insurer.
Due
diligence requires an agent to
contact
at least five of
thoroughly
examine if coverage can be placed with
the
authorized insurers the agent represents
,
or as many insurers as the agent represents,
that customarily write the kind of insurance required by the insured.
Due diligence is presumed if
declinations
are
a
declination is
received
from
each
an
authorized
insurer contacted. If any authorized insurer fails to respond within
ten days after the initial contact, the agent may assume the insurer
has declined to accept the risk.
(2)
Due diligence shall only be performed by an agent licensed in this
state that holds an active property and casualty insurance agent
license.
(3)
An insurance agent or surplus lines broker is exempt from the due
diligence requirements of this section if the agent or surplus lines
broker is procuring insurance from a risk purchasing group or risk
retention group as provided in Chapter 3960. of the Revised Code.
(4)
An insurance agent or surplus lines broker is exempt from the due
diligence requirements of this section if the agent or surplus lines
broker is seeking to procure or place unauthorized insurance for a
person that qualifies as an exempt commercial purchaser under section
3905.331 of the Revised Code and both of the following are true:
(a)
The surplus lines broker procuring or placing the surplus lines
insurance has disclosed to the exempt commercial purchaser that the
insurance may or may not be available from the authorized market that
may provide greater protection with more regulatory oversight.
(b)
After receipt of the disclosure required under division (B)(4)(a) of
this section, the exempt commercial purchaser has requested in
writing that the insurance agent or broker procure or place the
insurance from an unauthorized insurer.
(C)
Except when exempt from due diligence requirements under division (B)
of this section, an insurance agent who procures or places insurance
through a surplus lines broker shall obtain a signed statement from
the insured acknowledging that the insurance policy is to be placed
with a company or insurer not authorized to do business in this state
and acknowledging that, in the event of the insolvency of the
insurer, the insured is not entitled to any benefits or proceeds from
the Ohio insurance guaranty association. The statement must be on a
form prescribed by the superintendent and need not be notarized. The
agent shall submit the original signed statement to the surplus lines
broker within thirty days after the effective date of the policy. If
no other agent is involved, the surplus lines broker shall obtain the
statement from the insured.
The
surplus lines broker shall maintain the original signed statement or
a copy of the statement, and the originating agent shall keep a copy
of the statement, for at least five years after the effective date of
the policy to which the statement pertains. A copy of the signed
statement shall be given to the insured at the time the insurance is
bound or a policy is delivered.
(D)
For the purpose of carrying out the "Nonadmitted and Reinsurance
Reform Act of 2010," 124 Stat. 1589, 15 U.S.C. 8201 et seq., or
any successor or replacement law, the superintendent shall conduct a
fiscal analysis of the impact of entering into a multistate agreement
or compact for determining eligibility for placement of unauthorized
insurance and for payment, reporting, collection, and allocation of
the tax on unauthorized insurance. If the fiscal analysis indicates
that entering into a multistate agreement or compact is advantageous
to this state, the superintendent may enter into the surplus lines
insurance multistate compliance compact adopted by the national
conference of insurance legislators and known as "SLIMPACT,"
as amended on December 21, 2010, and including any subsequent
amendment; or, if it is in this state's financial best interest, the
superintendent shall request that the general assembly authorize the
superintendent to enter into a different multistate agreement or
compact.
(E)
The superintendent may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code to carry out the purposes of sections 3905.30 to
3905.38 of the Revised Code.
Sec.
3905.333.
(A)
As used in this section, "export list" means a list
determined and published by the superintendent of insurance of
coverages and classes for which no general market exists with an
admitted insurer.
(B)(1)
The superintendent of insurance shall create and maintain an
insurance export list.
(2)
The superintendent shall review the list on a periodic basis,
determined by the superintendent, and may, at the superintendent's
sole discretion, revise the list as needed.
(C)
The superintendent shall consider all of the following when creating
and revising the export list:
(1)
Current marketplace conditions;
(2)
Information from admitted and surplus lines insurers operating in
this state;
(3)
Information from other sources, including insurance producers and
consumers;
(4)
Any other information deemed relevant by the superintendent.
(D)(1)
Any person may request, in writing, that the superintendent add or
remove coverage or a class of insurance from the export list.
(2)
Any person making such a request shall provide evidence of the market
conditions that support the request.
(3)
The superintendent, at the superintendent's sole discretion, may
include such coverage or class of insurance on the export list.
(E)
Notwithstanding division (B) of section 3905.33 of the Revised Code,
a surplus lines broker may solicit, procure, place, or renew any
insurance with an unauthorized insurer without completing due
diligence for any insurance coverage or class included on the export
list.
(F)
The superintendent and the department of insurance, including any
employee or agent of the department, bears no liability with regard
to actions authorized under this section.
Section
2.
That
existing section 3905.33 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.