One of WSIA's top continued initiatives is its work on the legislative front. Throughout the year, E&S leaders work tirelessly to help lawmakers gain a better understanding of the needs of the Surplus Lines industry and seek to further legislation favorable to the work of WSIA members. In the year to come, the organization will continue to focus on several key topics highly relevant to the E&S business.

NRRA implementation

The Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) is the most important legislative change to impact the surplus lines industry in decades, and WSIA will continue to work with states to fully implement the intent of the law. Not all states are calculating surplus lines premium taxes based solely on the NRRA's home state authority: Although the NRRA is a simple law, it was not implemented in a fully uniform manner – and WSIA's priority is to protect the NRRA and support uniform implementation.

"WSIA and the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB) have worked in coalition over the last few years to seek NRRA reform in this area, and since we began we have eliminated this practice not only for most of the NIMA states, specifically Louisiana, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, but also for states that included this requirement in anticipation of tax sharing, including Kansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota," said Keri Kish, WSIA's Director of Government Relations.