News from the Surplus Lines Industry and InsCipher
Update

New York - ELANY Notice - Regarding Multi-Factor Authentication

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Shared by Compliance • October 04, 2025

ELANY has emailed out the following notice regarding Multi-Factor Authentication. We are passing this along in case you did not receive it directly:

Dear Member,

This email is for EEFS/AEROS broker administrators.

ELANY’s records for the week of 09/22/2025 show what appear to be concurrent logins with the same user credentials.

ELANY soon will be implementing MFA (Multi-Factors Authentication) in our EEFS/AEROs system for users who log in with a username and password.

Users with the same login credentials will not be able to log into EEFS/AEROs at the same time.

To ensure your teams are not impacted by our upcoming MFA implementation, we are asking you to set up unique logins (usernames) for each of your team members if you have not done so already. Instructions to add logins.

Please see the attached email for more information and contact ELANYHelpdesk@elany.org if you have any questions.

Update

Washington - Notice of Address Change - Surplus Lines Association

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Shared by Compliance • September 29, 2025

Please review the notice issued by the Surplus Line Association of Washington regarding their change of address, effective October 9, 2025. Kindly update your records accordingly.


Update

Maine - State Stamp Wording Update

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Shared by Compliance • September 25, 2025

Section 22 of Maine Chapter 348 S.P. 720 - L.D. 1837 has repealed the current version of 24-A MRSA 2009 in its entirety.

Important Dates & Requirements:

Through September 24, 2025

  • The current surplus lines stamp remains effective and must continue to be used.

Beginning September 24, 2025

  • The stamp requirement is repealed.
  • It is replaced with two new notice requirements:

At Application

  • A required notice must be provided at the time of application.
  • Please note: This requirement is not available in the InsCipher portal. This notice is being provided as a courtesy for your reference.
  • Be sure to update your applications with the correct information from the updated legislation.

At Policy Delivery

  • A required notice must be provided at delivery.
  • This has been incorporated into the State Stamp Wording Instructions within the InsCipher portal.
Update

Montana - Surplus Lines Reporting Moving to SLIP+ for States

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Shared by Compliance • September 15, 2025

Please see the important announcement from the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance.

The Commissioner has advised that they are adopting the SLIP+ for States platform for the reporting and payment of Surplus Lines taxes on all Surplus Lines policies and endorsements on policies effective January 1, 2026 and later.

Once we receive additional clarification from the state, we will update our tax calculator to accommodate these changes.

Update

North Dakota - Diligent Search Update

Compliance avatar
Shared by Compliance • September 15, 2025

Effective August 1, 2025 the diligent search form (SFN 4818) is no longer required.

Under SB 2374 , a risk may be placed with a surplus lines carrier if:

  • The risk is referred to the surplus lines producer by a North Dakota–licensed insurance producer, or
  • The surplus lines producer knows that the full amount or type of coverage is not available from insurers admitted in North Dakota (if any are writing that line).

Should you have any questions, please let us know.

Update

California - Update: SLACAL SLIP Third Party Filer Login Change

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Shared by Compliance • August 28, 2025

We’ve updated our SLIP account to change our Third Party Filer login to Kayla Eppley.

As a result, you may receive an email from SLACAL with the subject line “SLIP Account Change Request - Surplus Line Association of California” referencing a change for the previous filer (Aimee Ockenfels or Lara York). No action is required—please disregard that message.

If you have any issues with the Filer login or questions, please contact InsCipher Support at support@inscipher.com.

Update

Virginia - Update to SLB-9 Form/State Stamp Wording in the Tax Calculator

Compliance avatar
Shared by Compliance • August 19, 2025

Upon further clarification from the Virginia Bureau of Insurance, the SLB-9 Form (State Stamp Wording) must be either:

  • Attached to all new and renewal policies, or
  • The full information contained in the SLB-9 must be clearly stamped on the policy.

Please note, this requirement does not apply to endorsements.

Update

Washington - Important Notice from the Surplus Line Association - Membership Fees

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Shared by Compliance • August 18, 2025

Please see the August Newsletter from the Surplus Line Association of Washington, which includes an important action item regarding the Annual Membership Fee Statements.

Be on the lookout for this invoice in your SLIP inbox, as brokers are responsible for maintaining their membership in good standing. Please note that we are unable to complete this process on behalf of brokers.

If you have any questions, please contact the Washington SLA at info@surpluslines.org.

Update

North Carolina - Update on Filing Non-RPG Zero Premium Master Policies in SLIP

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Shared by Compliance • August 08, 2025

We have received further clarification from the North Carolina Surplus Lines Association (NCSLA).

Effective immediately, please file all Non-RPG New and Renewal master policies with zero premium in SLIP using a premium amount of $0.01.

Should you have any questions, please let us know.

Update

OPTins Announcement: Upcoming OKTA Integration in Login Process

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Shared by Compliance • August 01, 2025

Please review the following important announcement below from OPTins regarding upcoming changes to the login process.

OPTins will soon be implementing OKTA as part of its authentication system, which may require action on your part to ensure continued access. In summary,

1. Users should expect to receive an email from OPTins/OKTA that their account is set up - please follow the prompts in the email. You may be asked to set up additional 2-step verification for logging in

2. Once you are set up for OKTA, you will want to add your OKTA credentials to the Password Manager in the portal by selecting the web description "OPTins-OKTA".

3. Once you are logged in to OKTA, you can access OPTins from the home screen and open OPTins as usual.

Notice from OPTins:

To improve both security and user experience, we're updating the OPTins login process to use Okta, a secure Single Sign-On (SSO) platform with built-in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

What's Changing?

The production release is scheduled for the evening of Thursday, July 31st.

IMPORTANT: When users log in on Friday, August 1st, your previous credentials will no longer work. You will now use your Okta credentials to log into OPTins.

  • If you already use NAIC Okta, no action will be required.
  • Individuals who use another NAIC system may already exist in Okta and no further action will be needed.
  • Individuals who do not already exist in Okta will receive a “Welcome to Okta” email with instructions to finalize their account setup. All users that receive the Okta welcome email must take action, even if they will not use the OPTins system in the near future.
  • A small number of users with two or more OPTins accounts may have additional impact and will be contacted separately.

If you are not using Okta yet, we'll create a login for you using your email address tomorrow, Wednesday, July 30th. You'll then receive an email with an activation link that will be valid for 7 days.

With the move to Okta, users will benefit from:

  • One secure login: All your OPTins usernames will be consolidated under a single Okta ID - no more managing multiple logins.
  • Stronger security: Okta's Multi-Factor Authentication adds extra protection, even if your password is compromised.
  • Simplified access: One login gives you access to both legacy and modernized OPTins, as well as other NAIC-authorized systems connected via Okta.

Please note that action is required. If you received a Welcome to Okta, email, please complete the steps. If you have questions, please contact us at optinshelp@naic.org.

OPTins Support Team