News from the Surplus Lines Industry and InsCipher
The Alabama Department of Insurance is 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 additional clarification is received from the state, we will update our tax calculator to accommodate these changes. Please review the bulletin below released by SLIP+ for States:
The Alabama Department of Insurance is adopting SLIP+ for States for the reporting and payment of all Alabama surplus lines premium taxes beginning January 1, 2026.
“Launching SLIP+ for States in Alabama reflects our shared commitment to innovation and service,” said Tiffany Andersen, Director of SLIP+ Client Services. “Our goal is to make surplus lines filings faster, clearer, and more intuitive for everyone involved. Through our partnership with the Alabama Department of Insurance, brokers and regulators alike will have the tools and support they need to simplify filings and strengthen compliance.”
For all Alabama policies effective January 1, 2026, and later, and for all subsequent endorsements to those policies, Alabama surplus lines brokers will report policy information in SLIP+. Surplus lines premium tax invoices will be available for payment in SLIP+ on a quarterly basis beginning April 1, 2026.
Alabama surplus lines policies with effective dates before January 1, 2026, and endorsements to those policies, will continue to be filed through OPTins using the ID-12 form until renewal. New users of SLIP+ for States will need to register prior to making their first filing. Filers already registered with SLIP+ for States do not need to register again.
The SLIP+ team will host a training webinar in January 2026 to familiarize brokers with SLIP+ for States and the associated filing and invoicing processes. Additional training materials and a recording of the webinar will be available at slipplus.com.
“We’re proud to offer a technology solution that simplifies the filing process for Alabama’s surplus lines community, and we’re honored to partner with the Alabama Department of Insurance in this effort,” commented Mark Shealy, FSLSO Executive Director. “As SLIP+ for States expands across multiple states, it creates a more consistent and streamlined experience for brokers, making compliance, reporting, and tax payments easier for our clients and their regulators.”
For more information, please see the bulletin from the Alabama Department of Insurance or contact the SLIP+ for States team at info@slipplus.com or (877) 267-9855, option 1.
The State of Connecticut Insurance Department has issued Bulletin SL-6, which introduces a minor modification to the diligent effort requirements for surplus lines placements. In addition to this update, the bulletin also reaffirms the existing surplus lines placement requirements to ensure compliance and clarity for all licensees.
We recommend reviewing Bulletin SL-6 in detail to understand the updated standards and ensure that all placement procedures align with the revised guidance.
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.
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.
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.
At Application
At Policy Delivery
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.
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:
Should you have any questions, please let us know.
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.
Upon further clarification from the Virginia Bureau of Insurance, the SLB-9 Form (State Stamp Wording) must be either:
Please note, this requirement does not apply to endorsements.
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.