The Premium Tax Section is responsible for the regulation of Surplus Lines brokers, including reporting and compliance, along with the collection of surplus lines premium tax revenue. Refer to Title 18, Delaware Insurance Code Chapter 19 for details of Surplus and Excess Lines regulation.
General Information
Eligible Non-admitted Surplus Lines Companies
Since passage of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2010 (NRRA), the Delaware Department of Insurance no longer determines whether or not a non-admitted insurer is eligible–and does not “approve”—surplus lines insurers to transact business in Delaware. For years, the Department published Surplus Lines Bulletin No. 5, the Listing of Eligible Surplus Lines Insurers. The publication and use of this listing is no longer mandatory, and no specific list will be published by the Department.
Foreign (U.S.) Surplus Lines Insurers Under the mandates of the NRRA, any insurer domiciled in a U. S. jurisdiction (also referred to as “foreign surplus lines insurer”) is considered eligible to transact surplus lines business in any state if that non-admitted insurer maintains capital and surplus of at least $15 million or the minimum capital and surplus requirements under the law of the insured’s home state, whichever is greater.
Click here to look up the eligibility status of a Foreign Surplus Lines Insurer.
Alien (non–U.S.) Surplus Lines Insurers Under the mandates of the NRRA, if a non-admitted insurer domiciled outside the United States (referred to as “alien surplus lines insurer”) is listed on the Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers maintained by the International Insurers Department of the NAIC, that insurer is considered eligible to transact surplus lines business in any state.
Click here to look up the eligibility status of an Alien Surplus Lines Insurer.
Delaware Domestic Surplus Lines Insurers (DSLI) This type of insurer differs from others in that these Delaware–domiciled insurer’s are treated as non-admitted in Delaware for particular business purposes. Although a Delaware DSLI is an admitted company, each Delaware DSLI is limited to writing surplus lines insurance only. A company that is licensed as a Delaware DSLI meets all eligibility criteria under the NRRA and may write surplus lines insurance business in any jurisdiction, including Delaware.
Click here for a list of Delaware Domestic Surplus Lines Insurers.
★ IMPORTANT ★
It is the surplus lines broker’s responsibility to ascertain a non-admitted insurer’s eligibility status before placing business with that company.
(per 18 Del. C. § 1913)
If you have further questions about a specific non-admitted company, check with the regulatory authority in insurer’s state of domicile.
Click here for Important Information about the NRRA and Delaware Premium Taxes
Forms
OPTins – ONLINE PREMIUM TAX FOR INSURANCE
NEW FORMS AND PAYMENT METHOD ADDED TO OPTins
OPTins is now the Delaware Department of Insurance’s preferred method for submission of ALL surplus lines broker policy and tax submissions. Beginning this year, not only can you file the annual (SL-1925-A) and quarterly (SL-1925-Q) tax forms through OPTins, but you can complete and attach the SL-1903-MS multi-state policy form(s) to the quarterly tax filing electronically (if applicable). And the SL-1905 Notice of Insurance Transaction Excel® form is now available in OPTins. No need to email the Excel file to the Department if you use OPTins. The Department can retrieve the data from OPTins!
OPTins, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) solution for electronic filing and payment of surplus lines tax and various other state-specific filings, recently introduced a second electronic payment method, ACH credit. As a result, tax-related filings and payments can now be submitted to any OPTins participating state using either ACH debit or ACH credit. OPTins provides immediate, secure transmission and receipt of premium tax reports and payments online at minimal cost-often less than the cost of printing and mailing forms and checks!
The use of OPTins is not mandatory at this time, but now that OPTins offers both ACH Credit and ACH Debit as payment options, the Department even more strongly encourages all surplus lines broker licensees to use OPTins to submit Delaware forms and tax payments electronically.
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ATTENTION ALL INDIVIDUAL SURPLUS LINES LICENSEES,
FILING PERSONNEL AND INSUREDS WHO DIRECTLY PROCURE
INSURANCE FROM NON–ADMITTED INSURERS
IMPORTANT : BUSINESS ENTITIES SHOULD NOT SUBMIT TAX REPORTS.
Only individual surplus lines brokers can transact business, therefore, tax reports should only be submitted by (or on behalf of) individual surplus lines brokers. It is imperative that the individual broker’s 7–digit Delaware license number be properly entered on each form in order for the tax filing to be credited to the broker.
Self-Procured Insurance – Independent Procurement Premium Tax Report due within 30 days after the effective date of policy. Click here for tax form.
PLEASE NOTE: Delaware’s surplus lines tax rate increased from 2% to 3%, effective July 30, 2014. These forms have been updated to reflect the increased tax rate. Click here to view SURPLUS LINES BULLETIN NO. 14 for more information.
If Delaware is the home state of the insured, and if any part of the risk exposure is located within Delaware, this report must be completed and submitted by the insured for any insurance purchased from a non-admitted insurer without the involvement of a surplus lines broker, and tax of 2% must be paid to Delaware on the entire policy premium.
Form SL-1925-A (formerly SL-1916) – CY 2013 Brokers Annual Premium Tax and Fees Report due on or before March 1, 2014.
THIS REPORT MUST BE FILED BY ALL INDIVIDUAL SURPLUS LINES BROKERS. ANNUAL REPORTS ARE ALWAYS REQUIRED FROM EACH INDIVIDUAL, EVEN IF NO BUSINESS WAS WRITTEN.
The Department’s preferred method for submission of this report is through OPTins. This report must be submitted by each individual surplus lines broker licensee regardless of business volume or tax liability. Submit a zero report if no business was written.
★ ATTENTION ★
Delaware’s surplus lines tax rate increased from 2% to 3%, effective July 30, 2014. These forms have been updated to reflect the increased tax rate. IMPORTANT: Before submitting tax or policy transaction reports, please click here to view SURPLUS LINES BULLETIN NO. 15 which contains important information and guidance regarding changes to reporting procedures and the new forms.
Form SL-1925-Q (formerly SL-1917) – CY 2014 Quarterly Premium Tax Reports due during CY 2014.
NOTE: Click here to obtain 2013 SL-1925-Q due January 30, 2014
The Department’s preferred method for submission of this report is through OPTins. This report must be submitted by each individual surplus lines broker. Important: Zero quarterly reports are not required.
Form SL-1903-MS (Multi-State) – Use this form to report multi-state policies ONLY.
Attach one copy of this form for each multi-state policy written in a calendar quarter to the appropriate quarterly report. Use the electronic SL-1905 form to report single-state policies.
Form SL-1905 – Notice of Insurance Transaction (to be used on an occurrence basis)
IMPORTANT:
This electronic Excel® form has been changed and updated. Please replace the old SL-1905 form template with this updated version and use this version to make upcoming policy reports. It is not necessary to make any changes to previously filed forms, but please DO NOT continue to use the old form.
★ PLEASE NOTE ★
By calendar year-end each year, the Delaware Department of Insurance should receive and have on record either a Surplus Lines Notice of Insurance Transaction (SL-1905) or a Report of Multi-State Surplus Lines Transaction (SL-1903-MS) for every surplus lines policy transaction made by a surplus lines licensee with regard to insurance risks for which Delaware is the home state of the insured. This includes, but is not limited to, every new policy, renewals, endorsement, audit finding, cancellation and return premium action, etc. Failure to submit these filings may subject the licensee to penalties.
Form SL-1923 (formerly SL-1904) – Statement of Diligent Effort.
Retain this completed form in the surplus lines broker’s office with other policy materials.
Form SL-1916 (formerly SL-1908) – Binder ⁄ Policy Number Replacement.
Submit this form only when there is a change in the number that uniquely identifies a policy.
Prior Year Surplus Lines Broker Tax Filing Forms
Amendments
If you are not able to use OPTins and are filing a paper form, send these tax reports and payments to:
Delaware Insurance Department
Attn: SURPLUS LINES SECTION
841 Silver Lake Blvd.
Dover, DE 19904-2465
Questions from Surplus Lines Brokers can be directed to Ann Fletcher.
