Section 6.31. Interpretations of the instructions for uniform classifications of expenses of fire and marine and casualty and surety insurers.

 

(1)   Purpose .

(a) This rule is intended to implement and interpret uniform accounting instructions in s. Ins 6.30 .

1. The following kinds of expense shall be allocated to indicated operating expense classifications. - See PDF for table

2.

a. When contingent commission payments are large in number and small in average amount, a method of allocation based on the over-all profit in each line of business should yield reasonably correct allocations.

b. Company-owned automobiles and equipment may be depreciated on a 100% basis.

c. A company may carry company-owned automobiles and equipment as an asset (non-admitted) and deduct depreciation each year.

d. Handling of certain filing charges: Where a company sells a policy to a long haul firm and that firm requests that the insuring company make a "filing" with a State Commerce Commission in a state in which it is not licensed and another insurance company on behalf of the first insurance company actually issues the policy and makes the required filing, charging a nominal fee for the transaction, the company receiving the fee should credit it to "Direct Premiums" and the company paying the fee should charge it to "Direct Premiums."

3. The following kind of expense shall be allocated to the indicated expense group: - See PDF for table

4. When commission on reinsurance is on a "sliding scale" or"guaranteed profit" basis both the tentative commission and any adjustments brought about by the "sliding scale" or "guaranteed profit" provisions should be allocated to Commission and Brokerage-Reinsurance Assumed or Commission and Brokerage-Reinsurance Ceded.

5. Salvage and subrogation may be allocated as follows:

a. Where attention is given to salvage or subrogation matters at the same time as the adjustment of the loss is proceeding, no attempt will be made to allocate any portion of the adjuster's time to salvage (or subrogation) expense.

b. Where the salvage or subrogation activity follows the adjustment of the loss such additional time as may be required will be treated as salvage expense.

c. Any items of outside service such as advertising, expenses of outside organizations or rewards where paid by and billed to the company will be treated as salvage expense.

d. Cost of recovering stolen goods incurred by and billed to the company will be treated as salvage expense.

e. Where salvage is handled by outside agencies and their billing is made directly to the company, sufficient information should be given for proper classification of the related expenses.

f. It is understood that the classification of expenses as salvage expense is not dependent upon any salvage recovery.

6.

a. The following employee activities should be allocated to expense groups on the basis of the purposes for which the tabulating, listing, filing or other jobs were performed: Cutting and verifying punched cards, sorting and tabulating punched cards, maintaining punched card files, and supervision thereof.

b. The salaries of the employees in service units, such as the following, providing services to other employees may be allocated to expense groups as overhead on the salaries of employees in all other departments except executive officers: Mailroom, Personnel, First aid, Telephone operation, Office maintenance and Receptionists.

c. If an appreciable part of the time of employees handling purchases and supplies is devoted to furnishing supplies to agents, such salaries may be allocated to expense groups on the basis of a time estimate. Allocate to General Expenses that part of the time spent in working on supplies for agents; allocate remainder as Overhead on Salaries of employees in all other departments except executives.

d. When files are maintained and serviced in a separate department or at a central location, the salaries of employees engaged in this activity may be allocated to expense groups on the basis of a time estimate. That portion of time spent on policy files (daily reports, applications, endorsements, etc.) and that portion of time spent on general correspondence files may be allocated to General Expenses; that portion of time spent on active claim files may be allocated to Loss Adjustment Expenses; that portion of time on inactive claim files (dead files) may be allocated to General Expenses.

e. When a central abstract department is maintained for the mechanical reproduction of premium abstracts and claim abstracts for use by other departments, the salaries of these employees may be charged on the basis of a time estimate. That portion of time spent on claim abstracts may be allocated to Loss Adjustment Expenses and that portion of time spent on premium abstracts to General Expenses.

f. If a company maintains a general accounting unit and a cashier's unit (the duties of which include keeping the general ledger, general journal and general cash books) and no apportionment to Investment Expenses, to Loss Adjustment Expenses, or to Acquisition, Field Supervision and Collection Expenses is possible, except by using a rough estimation which is little better than a guess, the company may allocate the total expenses of these units to General Expenses in view of the impossibility of making reasonably accurate apportionments to expense groups.

7. If the salary of a non-supervisory employee predominantly pertains to the activities of one expense group, the whole of such salary may be allocated to that expense group.

8. The following describes an acceptable method of allocating to expense groups and lines of business the salaries of employees engaged in administrative and/or supervisor activities:

a. Salaries of executive heads, such as the president of a company, the chairperson of a company's board, and their secretaries, ordinarily should be distributed to expense groups and lines of business as an Overhead on Salaries of supervised personnel, after an apportionment to Investment Expenses. If any other methods are used, the allocations must be supported by detailed analyses of activities.

b. Salaries of other executive officers, department heads and supervisors ordinarily should be allocated on the basis of a study of time spent on the affairs of each of the departments or units supervised and then these salaries should be allocated to expense groups and lines of business as Overhead on Salaries of the employees in the respective departments or units. If any other methods are used, the allocations must be supported by detailed analyses of activities.

9. Includable in the operating expense classification, Boards, Bureaus and Associations, are the following: "Dues, assessments, fees and charges of:...underwriting syndicates, pools and associations such as Factory Insurance Association, Oil Insurance Association, assigned risk plans (except Commission and Brokerage; Claim Adjustment Services; and Taxes, Licenses and Fees);..."

10. Dues or assessments of organizations includable in Boards, Bureaus and Associations, or in Surveys and Underwriting Reports, directly related to loss work are properly chargeable to the expense group, Loss Adjustment Expenses.

History: Cr. Register, July, 1959, No. 43 , eff. 8-1-59.

Note

To make clear the meaning of "sliding scale" and "guaranteed profits" the following is submitted: Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 SLIDING SCALE CONTRACTS Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Most of these contracts provide for a flat commission ranging from about 30% to 37 1/2%, paid on a written basis. Additional profit commissions are paid at a later date on an earned basis as specified by a formula embodied in the contract. These profit commissions are paid as the result of savings in the loss ratio. A common provision is that 1/2% profit commission shall be paid for each 1% saving in the loss ratio. Sometimes a portion of the scale may provide for a "1 for 1" profit commission, i.e., a full 1% profit commission for each 1% saving in the loss ratio. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 For example, a contract may provide for a flat commission of 35%, with a"1/2 for 1" profit commission to be paid the ceding company for any saving in the loss ratio under 55%, until the profit commission reaches 10%, or a total commission of 45%. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Some contracts provide for a possible "return commission." In the preceding example, if the loss ratio should exceed the breaking point of 55%, then the ceding company might have to pay a return commission to the reinsurer on a "1/2 for 1" basis until return commissions of, say, 5% have been returned, thus reducing the ultimate net commission from 35% to 30%. If the loss ratio should run under 35% or exceed 65%, then such saving or loss would ordinarily be carried forward to the computation for the following year. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 GUARANTEED PROFIT CONTRACTS Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 The most common form of "surplus aid" is the "guaranteed profit"contract. Its principal characteristic is that it transfers unearned premium reserve from the ceding company to the reinsurer and results in an immediate increase in the ceding company's surplus by the amount of the tentative commissions received, but because all such tentative commissions are subject to return to the reinsurer, does not actually relieve the ceding company of risk. The ceding company still remains exposed to the same risk as before. It is in the position of paying 2% to 5% of the ceded premiums to induce a reinsurer to sign a contract which has no ultimate effect other than to reduce its surplus by 2% to 5% of these premiums. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Guaranteed profit contracts are often written in a form similar to a quota share or portfolio of reinsurance contract, or a combination of both. The tentative commission is ordinarily 45% or 50%. The reinsurer's fee is generally 2%, 3%, or 5% of the amount ceded. Most quota-share type contracts are subject to monthly reporting and settlements. The contract usually provides for additional commissions to be increased by 1% for each 1% decrease in the loss ratio, and return commissions on the basis of 1% for each 1% increase in the loss ratio. An example follows: - See PDF for table Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 In a situation similar to the one illustrated, the ceding company pays to the reinsurer the gross reinsurance premiums less 45% commissions, or a net 55%. As losses are determined they are paid by the reinsurer until the ceding company has received back from the reinsurer losses recovered in an aggregate amount equal to 52% of the original premiums ceded (55% less 3%). Any additional losses are immediately charged back to the ceding company as "return commissions" on a "1 for 1" basis. On the other hand, any saving under 52% is returned to the ceding company in the form of additional commissions. The ultimate effect on the ceding company is the loss of 3% of its ceded premiums. The ceding company actually carries its own full risk throughout the entire period with respect to its gross business.) Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 ( Note: By this interpretation, many salaries may be allocated directly and without fractional apportionment. As examples: a branch office or home office employee who is primarily concerned with the collection of premiums may be allocated wholly to Acquisition, Field Supervision and Collection Expenses, even though a lesser part of the activities may pertain to General Expenses; a branch office or home office underwriter who is primarily concerned with the acceptability of risks, net retentions, quoting of rates, etc., may be allocated wholly to General Expenses, although he or she may also engage, in a lesser extent, in production work, pertaining to Acquisition. Field Supervision and Collection Expenses; a special agent working on the development and maintenance of the sales field may be allocated wholly to Acquisition, Field Supervision and Collection Expenses, although he or she may also be concerned, to a lesser extent, in the adjustment of losses; key punch and tabulating machine operators, whose work is primarily statistical, may be allocated wholly to General Expenses, although the cards and tabulations may be used to some extent in collection and loss adjustment activities.) Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 The foregoing instruction is applicable to all assigned risk plans and to the following syndicates, pools and associations: Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 American Cargo War Risk Reinsurance Exchange
  American Foreign Insurance Association
  American Marine Hull Syndicate
  American Marine Insurance Syndicate of Insurance of           Builders Risks
  American Negative Film Syndicate
  American Reinsurance Exchange
  Associated Aviation Underwriters
  Burlap Reinsurance Exchange
  Coastwise, Great Lakes & Inland Hull Assn.
  The Cotton Insurance Association
  Cotton Marine Reinsurance Agreement
  Eastern Intercoastal Cargo Reinsurance
  Exchange Excess of Loss Association
  Excise Bond Underwriters
  Export Automobile Reinsurance Exchange
  Factory Insurance Association
  Furriers Customers' Reinsurance Syndicate
  General Cover Underwriters Assn.
  The Great Lakes Underwriting Syndicate
  Inland Marine Reinsurance Assn.
  Inland Marine Syndicate, Inc.
  Inland Waterways Insurance Assn.
  Lake P. & I. Reinsurance Agreement
  Livestock Insurance Office
  Logging Underwriting & Inspection Association
  Multiple Location Service Office
  Mutual Corporation Inter-Reinsurance Fund
  Oil Insurance Association
  Railroad Insurance Association
  Railway Underwriters
  Registered Mail Central Bureau
  Reinsurance Clearing House
  Reinsurance Exchange
  Southern Reinsurance Exchange
  Stock Companies Association
  The Tugboat Underwriting Syndicate
  Underwriters Grain Association
  Underwriters Service Association Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1