We would like to share information regarding a nationwide operational change implemented by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) related to how postmarks are applied to mailed items.

Overview of the Change

• USPS has modified how and when postmarks are applied to mail.
• Unless a customer specifically requests a postmark at a USPS retail counter, mail is no longer postmarked upon initial receipt at the local post office.
• Postmarks are now typically applied later in the process at regional distribution centers during automated sorting.

Additional details regarding this USPS change can be found in the Federal Register at the link here.

Please be advised that the Kansas Department of Insurance (KDOI) has adopted SLIP+ for States as the system for reporting and remitting Kansas surplus lines premium taxes. The announcement below provides detailed guidance on applicability, transition filing requirements, and associated taxes and fees:

The Kansas Department of Insurance is adopting SLIP+ for the reporting and payment of all Kansas surplus lines premium taxes beginning April 1, 2026.

For all Kansas policies effective January 1, 2026 and after, and all subsequent endorsements to those policies, Kansas surplus lines brokers and independently procured coverage filers will report policy data in SLIP+ for States beginning April 1, 2026.

A 3% surplus lines tax and a 0.175% SLIP+ transaction fee will apply to all Kansas surplus lines policies effective on or after January 1, 2026, and to any subsequent endorsements to those policies. The surplus lines tax and SLIP+ transaction fee are credited pro-rata for any return premium, cancellation, or reversal (backout) transactions.

All Kansas surplus lines policies, endorsements, audits or cancellations with an effective date of January 1, 2024 and after that were not previously reported to the Kansas Department of Insurance will also be filed through SLIP+ for States. The applicable surplus lines tax will apply. Policies and endorsements with an effective date prior to January 1, 2026 will not be charged the SLIP+ transaction fee.

Following are filing examples for the transition to SLIP+:

Example One: A policy has an effective date of January 1, 2026.

• This policy should be reported in SLIP+ for States after April 1, 2026.
• The 3% surplus lines tax and the 0.175% SLIP+ transaction fee will apply.

Example Two: An endorsement has an effective date of April 15, 2026, on a policy with an effective date of October 1, 2025.

• The new/renewal policy effective October 1, 2025 should be reported to the Kansas DOI using the Kansas Surplus Lines Tax Filing System on or before the March 1, 2026 filing deadline.
• The April 15, 2026 endorsement should be reported in SLIP+ for States.
• The 3% surplus lines tax rate will apply to the endorsement.
• The SLIP+ transaction fee will not apply because the policy effective date is prior to January 1, 2026.

Example Three: A new policy with an effective date of January 1, 2025 and was not previously reported to Kansas DOI in the March 1 annual filing.

• After April 1, 2026, the policy should be reported in SLIP+ for States.
• The 3% tax will apply.
• The SLIP+ transaction fee will not apply because the policy effective date is prior to January 1, 2026.

Example Four: A new policy with an effective date prior to January 1, 2024, or an endorsement on a policy effective prior to January 1, 2024, that was not previously reported to Kansas DOI in a March 1 annual filing.

• The policy or endorsement should be reported directly to the Kansas DOI using the Kansas Surplus Lines Tax Filing System. Contact KDOI.ExLines@ks.gov for further instructions.

Additional information and training regarding filings and payments in SLIP+ will be provided prior to implementation on April 1, 2026. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact info@slipplus.com or call (877) 267-9855, option 1. You may also contact the Kansas Department of Insurance at (785) 296-7844 or via email at KDOI.ExLines@ks.gov for questions on surplus lines reporting and tax filing requirements.

In response to recent changes implemented by VA regarding the Maintenance Assessment Fee increase effective January 1, 2026, for 2025 calendar-year policies, the portal has been updated accordingly.

• Beginning 1/1/26, the portal will no longer collect the Maintenance Assessment Fee upfront per filing.
• The Maintenance Assessment Fee will instead be calculated annually at year-end, based on all applicable business written during the calendar year. Additional enhancements are planned for later this year as part of the 2026 Annual Task.

ELANY has issued the following bulletins regarding 2025 Excess Line Premium Tax Statement filing requirements:

• Bulletin 2026-02: Early electronic filing guidance for Zero Tax Filers submitting Excess Line Premium Tax Statements.
• Bulletin 2026-04: General reminder regarding 2025 Premium Tax Statement filing requirements.

For questions or clarification, please contact ELANY directly, as instructed within the bulletins.

The California Department of Insurance has issued a notice dated January 9, 2026, containing important information regarding the filing of the 2025 Annual Premium Tax Form. If you have any questions or require clarification regarding this notice, please contact the California Department of Insurance directly via email at PremimTaxAudit@insurance.ca.gov for further assistance.

Please review the important 2025 Annual Surplus Lines reporting reminder below from the Kansas Department of Insurance, which includes updated zero-reporting requirements. Our portal has been updated to reflect these changes.

KS Annual Surplus Lines Filing & Taxes Reminder

Attention Kansas Licensed Excess Lines Agent:

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT KANSAS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR FILING EXCESS/SURPLUS LINES TAXES. PLEASE READ CARFULLY.

Filing submissions open on January 2nd.

Submission of your 2025 excess lines tax report must be submitted on the Surplus Lines Tax Filing System. If you have not logged into this system before, please go to Surplus Lines Tax Registration. If you have first received your surplus lines license within 2025, you will not be able to register until January as this system is updated once a year.

As a reminder, the report and payment in full must be submitted by March 1st.

There is no grace period for filing after March 1.

FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE YOUR REPORT AND PAY ANY TAXES OWED IN FULL WILL RESULT IN THE FOLLOWING:

Filing after March 1, 2026 will subject you to an assessment of a penalty of the greater of $100 or 10% of the taxes due.

Suspension of your excess lines license until such time as your tax report, taxes owed, and late filing penalty are submitted.

You will not to be able to renew your excess lines license on May 1, 2026, until your license is brought into good standing by filing your tax report, taxes owed, and late filing penalty.

Non-renewal of your excess line license will result in termination of your excess lines license, and you will be required to submit a new application.

You may also be subject to suspension of your resident or nonresident insurance producer’s license for failure to comply with your legal responsibility to file your excess lines tax report and related tax.

If your excess lines license became inactive or was surrendered or terminated in 2025, you still must file a report for the period of time in which you held a valid excess lines license.

You are required to pay your tax remittance at the time of filing your 2025 excess lines tax report. You cannot submit the report without electronic payment of the taxes owed. Available payment methods and instructions are supplied in Surplus Lines Tax Filing System. Paper checks are not accepted.

If you wrote no surplus lines business in 2025, a confirmation of such is required. You will find this confirmation in the Surplus Lines Tax Filing System.

Should you have questions about this matter, please contact the Rate and Form Compliance Division at 785-296-7844 or email KDOI.exlines@ks.gov.

The updated announcement below from the Surplus Line Association of Washington advises of the new URL for SLIP, now the Washington Filing Portal; all related Password Manager updates within the InsCipher portal have been completed:

SLIP is now the Washington Filing Portal

Today’s the day—the update to the name and URL of your filing portal (SLIP) are now live.

What you need to know:

• New Name for SLIP: Washington Filing Portal
• New URL: wfp.surpluslines.org – please update any bookmarks or saved links to the new URL
• Same filing experience
• Same login credentials

This update is part of our longer-term modernization effort, with more meaningful improvements coming in 2026.

Please review Bulletin 2025-21 from ELANY, which advises of significant changes to coverage codes and risk/industry codes beginning December 15, 2025.

Update: The Line of Business codes have been updated with the changes that go into effect on January 1, 2026. Since these codes have changed, if you import filings into InsCipher, be sure to check the mapping file to determine if you need to change your mapping for your coverage codes based on this change.

The Washington Surplus Lines Association has issued an update regarding an upcoming change to the SLIP portal. Please review the details below:

Upcoming Portal Name Change & URL Update

We’re reaching out with an important but simple update about the SLIP portal. Beginning 12/19/2025, the SLIP portal will be renamed to the Washington Filing Portal.

Nothing about the portal’s functionality or your workflow is changing. The URL will be updated, but your login credentials will remain the same.

What to expect on 12/19/2025:

• A new portal name
• A new URL to access the portal
• The same filing experience and system features

Potential action needed:

Once the new link is live next week, we recommend updating any saved bookmarks or shortcuts to avoid confusion.

This small update is the first step in a larger system modernization effort we’re preparing for 2026—one that will be shaped directly by our users.

We’ll follow up on launch day with a reminder and the new URL.

Please review the recent announcement from the Surplus Line Association of Idaho regarding an update to late fees:

UPDATE ON LATE FEES DECEMBER 05, 2025

As we move into our 3rd month with the new Idaho Surplus Line Broker Portal, we would like to give you an update on when late fees will start being assessed going forward.

Late Flag Response Fee: December 15, 2025

• Filings flagged 12/4/2025 or before will have their due dates reset to December 15th.

Late Filing Fees: January 1, 2026

Late Payment Fees: January 15, 2026

As a reminder, these are the late fees assessed by the Idaho Surplus Line Association:

Late Payment Fee:

• $25.00 per month for all invoices paid 1 or more days after invoice due date.
• Fees are assessed every 31 days thereafter until payment is received.
• Late Payment Fees are added directly to the past-due invoice and via the Broker Portal.

Late Filing Fee:

• $25.00 for policies, audits, and endorsements filed 31 or more days after the broker receives the policy documentation.
• Includes endorsements with additional or returned premium, audits, and flat cancellations.
• Fees appear on the monthly Stamping Fee invoices.
• Any filings submitted to our office 31 or more days after the broker received the policy documentation are subject to a $25 Late Filing Fee.

Late Flagged Response Fees:

• $10 weekly fee for each flagged filing that is not corrected and resubmitted within 10 days of being flagged.

• Late Flagged Response Fees are invoiced weekly and are payable within 30 days via the Broker Portal. |

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Surplus Line Association of Idaho.