Conn. Exempts Some Insurers’ Form and Rate Filings

The Connecticut Insurance Department this month launched a year-long pilot program that will exempt some complicated commercial rate and form filings from being initially reviewed by the state – although insurers using those forms will still be subject to an audit.

The move comes as the department tries to ease a backlog of filings – forms, rates and other legal paperwork detailing a policy – that have been sent to the state, but have gone unreviewed by regulators.

When new Commissioner Thomas R. Sullivan took office last year, that backlog had swelled to 3,500 filings. Sullivan said eliminating the backlog was a top priority for his office. Since then, the backlog has fallen to about 2,500 filings, spokeswoman Dawn McDaniel said.

Most of the exempted filings involve more complicated commercial coverages – such as commercial credit policies, commercial inland marine or boiler and machinery policies – which are sold to relatively few buyers, McDaniel said, and purchasers of those coverages typically consult with a lawyer while doing so.

McDaniel said the department did not know how many companies’ filings would be affected by the pilot program.

The department will review the program later this year to determine whether it should be made permanent, McDaniel said.