Issue #219 - 3.16.2022
Education

Mar 22 CISR Life and Health Essentials
In-Person Tucson

Mar 23 National Flood Insurance Agent Update
Live Webinar

Mar 24-25 CISR Commercial Casualty I
Live Webinar

Mar 29 EO Ethics Agents Professional Liability (IIABAZ Member Agency Personnel Only)
Free Live Webinar

Apr 6-7 CIC Commercial Property Institute
Hybrid - Live Webinar & In-Person Mesa

Apr 12 Breaking Up Is Hard to Do Live Ethics
(IIABAZ Member Agency Personnel Only)
Hybrid - Free Live Webinar & In-Person Phoenix

Apr 19 The Surplus Lines Marketplace
(Free for IIABAZ Members & Associates plus Surplus Lines Licensees)
Free Live Webinar


ABEN Online CE Courses
Click Here for the full schedule and registrations. New courses continuously added.

My Agency Campus
Click Here for online Personal and Commercial Lines training for new staff.
St. Patrick s Day greeting card with lettering. Holiday sign and watercolor clover leaf on white background


March
17th
2022
Upcoming Events

The Importance of a Strong Online Presence Workshop
March 30, 2022 (Wednesday)
Virtual and Free - Improve your agency website to rank higher in search engine results. Register by 3/23 for free agency website analysis report explained during the webinar.
(IIABAZ Member Agency Personnel Only)

ACT Tech Summit 2022
April 19-20, 2022 (Tuesday-Wednesday)
Virtual and Free - Agents, carriers & technology vendors talk about technology solutions that drive independent agency growth and efficiency. Details and Registration

Big I Legislative Conference
April 27-29, 2022 (Wednesday-Friday)
Renaissance Downtown, Washington, DC
Action Needed Ahead of Risk Rating 2.0 Implementation for Renewal Policies
Risk Rating 2.0, FEMA’s new pricing methodology for the NFIP has been in place since October 1, 2021. However, there is a significant change in agent responsibilities beginning with policies renewing on or after April 1, 2022.

For these policies to renew, agents may need to provide additional information. As the April 1 implementation date for all Risk Rating 2.0 renewals approaches, agents should review all communication from their Write Your Own (WYO) companies.

In many instances, agents will need to log in to the WYO company’s system and provide additional information regarding the NFIP policy. Among other things, this additional information could include construction type (masonry/frame), square footage of the structure, the replacement cost of the structure and/or the floor of the unit if it’s a condo. Failure to provide this information could result in a failure to renew and lapses of policies. 

Many NFIP renewals benefit from congressionally mandated rate caps or a “glidepath,” and a lapse would cause the policyholder to lose that benefit and potentially experience very significant premium increases. Importantly, if an agency is not aware of, or does not complete these responsibilities, it will create an errors & omissions exposure for the agent.

Agents can find the latest information regarding Risk Rating 2.0 on FEMA’s website as the NFIP Services Page is updated with access to the latest documents for Risk Rating 2.0.
Recent Business Cyber Attack Reporting Requirements
Congress recently passed legislation requiring businesses to report when they’re hacked or they pay ransomware if the business is considered part of the nation’s "critical infrastructure", which includes "finance".

The language in this omnibus legislation requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to propose rulemaking within 24 months and for that rulemaking to be finalized 18 months after that (so likely the requirement wont take effect for 3+ years).

It's possible that the insurance industry, or parts of it, is considered to be “critical infrastructure” as part of that “finance” definition but a lot of those details will be determined by the rulemaking process. The rulemaking is given broad authority and is tasked with defining important specifics, including what constitutes a covered entity, which cybersecurity incidents must be reported, and the required content of such reports.

As we go through the rulemaking process the next several years, the Big I will get a much better sense of who is covered under the “critical infrastructure” definition. The Big I will stay on top of it and make our voices heard throughout the process. Members will be kept informed along the way.
Proposition 208 Officially Dead
A Maricopa County Superior Court Judge struck down Proposition 208 in a ruling on March 11th following the Arizona Supreme Court's guidelines. The high court had found that the proposition would be unconstitutional if the money raised from the tax exceeded the spending limits on education and had left it to the lower court to make that determination.

Prop 208, passed by voters in November 2020, imposed a 3.5% surcharge on taxable incomes over $250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for joint filers to be used for salary increases for teachers and school personnel.

The surcharge tax was supposed to be paid on 2021 tax filings. The Arizona Department of Revenue will be issuing guidance on how taxpayers should handle their filings pertaining to this tax.
Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Arizona, Inc.
333 East Flower Street, Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phone # (602) 956-1851 . Toll # (800) 627-3356