- Lloyd’s Underwriters are approved Surplus Lines (SL) insurers in all US states and territories. Whenever a US risk is involved in a multi-territory placement via Lloyd’s it will most likely need to be written as a Surplus Lines placement for the US exposure
- For risk location the home state of the US exposure must be identified. The laws of the home state will apply to the transaction. The home state is typically the state where the largest exposure of the risk is located. Please see Crystal for specific rules.
- Each state has different rules on export of business to the Surplus Lines market. The majority of the states allow commercial Property & Casualty classes to be exported provided the diligent search has been conducted.
- If the insured is a large sophisticated entity, it may qualify to be classified as what’s called an exempt commercial purchaser and this means no diligent search is required. Classes that are exportable depend on the state and the details of the transaction. Please see ‘Export of business to the Surplus Lines market’ in Crystal for detail
United States of America (USA)
Trading rights in the USA
Lloyd's Permissions
Lloyd’s Underwriters can write business in London on an Excess and Surplus Lines basis
This could include Exempt Commercial Purchase (ECP) Provisions
Exemptions
(Allowing Lloyd's to write non-admitted risk)
Please see Lloyd’s Crystal for:
- Industrial Insured
- Independent Procurements
- Marine, Aviation & Transport (MAT)
Various types of Marine, Aviation and Transportation business may have exemptions in many states. In states that have such exemptions, these risks can be placed without having to go through surplus lines compliance and no diligent search is required. Some states however such as Texas, do not have any exemptions.
Doing multinational business in the USA
Key information
Intermediaries
- Approved Excess & Surplus brokers can bring Excess & Surplus business to Lloyd’s
- Surplus Lines brokers need to be licensed in the home state of the exposure
- Brokers are responsible for collection and remittance of tax for US surplus lines business
Wordings
- Provided the class of business is exportable there is freedom of form and flexibility on wordings
- Note that there are some state specific Surplus Lines wordings that should be applied. Please see Crystal / LMA wordings database
Claims
- Claims on policies issued on an E&S basis can be paid locally or outside the US
- Claims must have an in-state approved adjuster
Disclaimer:
These country profiles and Crystal are provided for information purposes; they do not constitute solicitation of business and are not intended to be a substitute for appropriate professional advice.