Ask Tim; Industry News

​New York Workers' Compensation insurance loss costs are set to decrease by an average 9% this fall according to a recent action by the state Department of Financial Services (DFS.) The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board​ (NYCIRB) announced last week that DFS had approved its new loss cost filing, effective October 1, 2024.Loss costs are values calculated by the NYCIRB and, for each rating classification, include provisions for:Expected lossesLoss adjustment expensesTerrorismNatural disasters, andCatastrophic industrial accidents.They are not rates. Individual insurance carriers and the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) must apply additional factors, known as "loss cost multipliers," that include provisions for carrier overhead expenses…

​Insurers in New York are no longer permitted to take adverse underwriting actions regarding habitational properties that contain subsidized housing units, according to the state Department of Financial Services (DFS.) The department said it was acting in response to a new section of the state's insurance law that took effect this spring.The announcement came in a circular letter dated June 24, 2024 addressed to all New York licensed property-casualty insurers; licensed insurance producers; the New York Property Insurance Underwriting Association (NYPIUA); and the Excess Line Association of New York (ELANY.) Bernard Ganley, deputy superintendent of the department's Property Bureau, explained that the state budget enacted on…

​As we previously reported, on May 28 the financial strength rating of Adirondack Insurance Exchange (AIE) on the website of insurance carrier financial ratings agency Demotech was withdrawn. AIE, a subsidiary of Allstate Insurance Group headquartered in Western New York, posted the news on its website, as did Demotech. AIE sent an email on May 28 to its agents about the action; Demotech has not publicly commented.Over the last several days, many Big I New York members have contacted us with questions and concerns about this development. We will attempt to answer them here, but our information is limited. The best sources of information, should…