carry liability coverage of $100k bodily injury and $25k in
property damage. Additionally, drivers who have a lien on
their vehicles must carry comprehensive and collison.
$50,000/$75,000/$35,000 failed to progress this Session.
There may be a summer or fall interim committee that
takes a closer look at the idea of raising minimum limits.
Excess & Surplus Lines - Surplus lines sold in Kansas will
now be streamlined to be taxed at the Kansas premium
tax rate rather than collecting at multiple state rates.
Additionally, agents and brokers are no longer required to
submit a sworn affidavit to the Insurance Department when
placing in the surplus lines market. They must still keep
a signed statement on file regarding their effort to place
in the admitted market, and this signed statement should
be made available to the Insurance Department upon
request. KAIA defeated a third E&S bill, which would have
done away with the Insurance Department’s “white list” of
approved E&S carriers. This caused concern for agents and
brokers who rely on the white list in determining which E&S
carriers maintain minimum financial capital requirements.
The law will remain the same regarding the “white list” and
the Insurance Department will continue to produce the list.
Cancellation of Homeowners - A bill that would have
prohibited the cancellation of homeowners policies solely
for weather-related claims also failed to progress this year.
Legislators, KAIA and the Insurance Commissioner will
continue discussions on potential market-driven solutions.
Minimum Auto Limits - A bill that would have increased
minimum auto limits from $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 to
Most Favored Nations - A bill that would have prohibited
the use of Most Favored Nations (MFN) clauses in health
insurance contracts did not gain traction this year. The
dominant carrier in the state, Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Kansas, indicated to legislators that it was no longer using
MFN clauses in its contracts, which prompted legislators to
take a wait-and-see approach on this issue.
what’s ahead
The Legislature will return to Topeka in January for the
2016 Session. In the meantime, KAIA will continue to
monitor interim committee discussions on issues affecting
small business owners and the insurance industry.
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