Surplus Line Premium Increased by 6.4% Nationwide in 2017

All 15 surplus lines service offices across the United States experienced increases in excess and surplus (E&S) lines insurance premium in 2017, the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) reports. U.S. surplus line premium totaled $28.1 billion, an increase of 6.4 percent over 2016.

The $1.69 billion increase over 2016 primarily was the result of two factors: the addition of a newly created North Carolina Service Office and the increased demand for E&S policies. There was a 10 percent increase in policy filings in 2017, compared with 2016.

All U.S. service/stamping office saw increases in E&S premium and policy filings, with the most notable being Minnesota, which experienced a 26.6 percent growth in premium. Other states with double digit increases included Utah (19.2 percent), North Carolina (17.1 percent), Oregon (16.8 percent), Arizona (16.4 percent), and Nevada (12.4 percent).

Nevada Surplus Lines Association Executive Director Lynn Twaddle commented that in his state the “growth in staffing of mega factories has created a surge for housing, resulting in a residential construction boom. The legalization of recreational marijuana and its related operations have also attributed to the increase in surplus lines premium.”

Sylvia Bruno, executive manager of the Surplus Line Association of Utah, noted that another contributing factor to the increase seen in Utah was the dissolution of the Non-Admitted Insurance Multi-State Association (NIMA), a multi-state tax sharing compact that ceased to exist.

The Southern Region of the U.S. reported the largest total premium at $11.8 billion. The region includes newcomer North Carolina, whose $733 million premium contributed to the total Southern premium growth of 6.8 percent.

Texas reported its best E&S premium year in its 30-year history, with $5.46 billion in premium recorded.

California, Florida and New York continued to record large E&S premium numbers. Reported premium for California ($6.55B), Florida ($5.25B), and New York ($4B) broke records in each of those states.