ISO CHECKS FOR TERRORISTS:
Insurance Services Office Inc.’s (ISO) A-PLUS unit has unveiled a new service insurers can use to cross-check policyholders against a U.S. Department of the Treasury master watch list to ensure that customers are not conducting business with persons and entities proscribed by the government. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) maintains a master list of individuals and organizations with ties to terrorism, international narcotics trafficking and activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Insurers are legally required to screen their customers against the OFAC list and notify the Treasury Department of any matches. Failure to do so can result in corporate or personal fines and jail time. The new A-PLUS solution automatically checks each insured’s name against the OFAC list whenever an A-PLUS auto or property loss-history report is ordered. The insurer is automatically notified of a potential match. ISO introduced it in response to requests for help complying with OFAC rule.