Industry News

​The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) said in communications to its licensees today that it has addressed problems with license renewal application processing. If you've run into problems submitting a license renewal application in the last two months, you should try again.The issue was that individual agents and brokers were being asked questions about compliance with the Cybersecurity Requirements For Financial Services Companies regulation​. That regulation exempts from its requirements individuals who are covered by another entity's cybersecurity program. For example, producers and licensed customer service representatives who are employees of an agency are covered by their employer's cybersecurity program. These individuals are exempt from…

​Florida-based property-casualty insurer UPC Insurance is insolvent and is to be liquidated, according to a consent order made public on Feb. 17. If you have clients who own UPC policies, we urge you to contact them as soon as possible to inform them of this development and discuss replacing coverage.The insurer, which as of last summer had 151,325 policies in force in six states other than Florida (including New York,)  was under the supervision of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation pursuant to a runoff plan​ agreed to by the insurer and the OIR last December. The plan was for the insurer to remain solvent while…

By: Carey Wallace​A hard market is a term used in the insurance industry to describe a period of time when insurance premiums are generally increasing, and underwriting standards are becoming more stringent. A hard market may be the result of a variety of factors, including increased claims and losses, rising costs for insurance companies, and increased regulation. In this environment, an independent insurance agency's profitability may be impacted in several ways. That impact can be positive for some agencies and negative for others based on how well an agency responds to their customer's needs.  During a hard market, insurance companies may experience increased commission and fee…