Surplus Line Association of California Stamping Office Celebrates 70 Years

The Surplus Line Association of California’s Stamping Office is celebrating its 70th anniversary.

On Dec. 1, 1938, then California Insurance Commissioner Rex B. Goodcell and Assistant Commissioner Harold B. Haas authorized a plan in which the Commissioner would allow surplus line brokers to make filings with a new “stamping office” within the Surplus Line Association of California.

“The establishment of the Stamping Office by the Surplus Line Association constitutes a splendid example of initiative and cooperation on the part of the association,” Commissioner Goodcell wrote. He expressed his appreciation for the association’s assistance and his respect for the self-government shown by surplus line brokers.

In response, the Surplus Line Association elected to maintain a stamping office in San Francisco to examine and record all filings required by the Insurance Commissioner’s rules and regulations relating to surplus line brokers or by the Executive Committee of the Surplus Line Association.

Today, the SLA is an organization of 3,874 surplus line brokers licensed by the state to negotiate and place insurance with non-admitted insurers. The association serves as the official surplus line advisory organization to the California Department of Insurance (California Insurance Code Sec. 1780.50 et seq.). With few exceptions, all California surplus line insurance policies must be filed with the Surplus Line Association of California for analysis of regulatory compliance, record keeping, and statistical reporting.