• Fire Protection Classes
  The use of fire protection classes other than ISO is not permitted.
   
• Scheduled Debits and Credits
  Schedule debits may not exceed a maximum of 25% of the standard rate nor shall schedule credits exceed 40% of the standard rate. For workers' compensation, the maximum credit or debit is 25%.
   
• Rate Tiers
  The Department allows the use of rate tiering. Separate tiers within one company must be filed with the Department. The tiers must be mutually exclusive if filed within one company.
   
• Rate Capping
  A one-term cap may be approved to limit policyholder disruption, but the manual rate must be achieved when the cap is removed at the next policy renewal.  A transition plan is another form of rate capping, which may be approved as a transition from one rating plan to another rating plan over a period of time (no more than 3 years).
   
• Multiple Rating or Rule Plans
  Rates or Rules that create different rates for risks with the same rating characteristics are not acceptable as they are considered unfairly discriminatory.  The Department may approve a transition plan to temporarily limit renewal disruption caused by a rating or rule plan change.
   
• Credit Scoring / Insurance Score
  Credit scoring may be used in underwriting and in rating of policies. If used in rating, the specific criteria used in calculating the credit score must be filed with the Department and the filing must include loss experience justifying the applicable surcharge or credit.
   
  The following requirements will be imposed upon insurers that intend to use credit scoring:

1. Credit scoring will not be allowed as the sole factor upon which any insurer makes its decision not insure an individual risk,
    
2. Credit scoring may be used to rate individual insureds among tiers,
    
3. The Department will require the individual insurers, as part of their rate filings, include listings of factors used to score individual risks, the methodology used to develop each factor and the weights given to each factor,
    
4. Any filer may request that its data be kept proprietary as a commercially-valuable trade secret and designate parts or all of its filings accordingly. The Department, absent court order, will not release information which is filed on a proprietary basis. Section 30-4-40(1).
    
5. Each insurer must justify, by appropriate actuarial data, each tier's rate for both liability and physical damage as separate calculations,
    
6. No hit/no score factors should be equal to 1.00,
    
7. Insureds may request the ordering of a new score every twelve months.
    

• Waiver of Premium Refund
  An insurer may file to waive a return premium under a certain amount, but that amount must be refunded to the insured upon request.
   
• Automobile Specific Positions:

Paintless Dent Repair
It is the Department’s position that insurers should not limit payment based upon repair method such as “Dentless Repair.”
 

Diminution of Value
The Department allows this to be excluded.
 

Expense Constants
As long as a policy fee is not being charged, expense constants are allowed as long as they become part of the premium charged.
 

ID Cards
Should include at least the insurer’s name, insured’s name, policy number, policy term, VIN, and coverage information or a statement that coverage meets the State’s minimum financial responsibility requirements.

 

Declarations Page
Insurer name, address, and phone number are required on the front of the Declarations page unless such information is provided on the front of the insurer’s policy contract.

 

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