With top notch technology, state of the art agency management and network operating systems, DeCotis Insurance Associates is able to quickly and efficiently respond to inquires while able to provide unparrrelled customer service. Binding authority policies and endorsements are issued on premises and filed electronically with procedural workflows on all new and renewal business.

While representing a number of major surplus lines markets and binding authority markets our wide range of Products and Services  include Commercial Property & Casualty; Professional Liability; Personal Lines and In-house Underwriting and Binding.

SUBMISSION PROCESS FOR NEW BUSINESS


The most efficient way to submit your business to our office is via email or facsimile. You will receive a Submission Acknowledgement Letter from our office as soon as your submission is cleared in our system. If you do not receive an acknowledgement letter, please contact your underwriter to be sure that we have successfully received what your application(s).

Although we are happy to provide indications over the phone to our agents with approximate coverage options and premiums for the purposes of expediency & risk evaluation, we will always require a complete submission to offer official terms and to be bound. All of our binding authority and brokerage underwriting contracts require that we obtain a complete submission before releasing terms and binding coverage. Indications are not official, and are not bindable.

To avoid unnecessary delays, your new business submission should include the following:

• A completed application (ACORD or specialty application where appropriate)
• Complete description of operations and classifications (the more detailed the better)
• 5 Years official loss runs from previous carriers (unless new venture), if available, including a complete description and current status of any claims
• Additional materials required for each unique risk (i.e. Financial statements for a D&O submission, Motor Vehicle Reports for a Personal Umbrella submission, etc.)

Please don’t hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions concerning materials needed to evaluate a risk. If necessary, we will forward an ACORD or specialty application, or highlight any additional information needed.

BINDING COVERAGE
Our office requires a written request to bind coverage via email, facsimile or US Mail. Requests to bind coverage over the phone or through the use of a voicemail system are not valid and will not be honored.

BILLING PROCEDURES
When coverage is bound, you will receive a binder and invoice the same day (or within an acceptable timeframe) via email or fax for binding authority business (processed in house), and you will receive a binder and invoice for brokered business (not processed in house) as soon as we receive the binder from the brokerage carrier.

As a surplus lines wholesaler dealing with several different markets and as many different payment terms, we have found that the most effective billing method is by invoice and not by monthly statement. Therefore, you will not receive a monthly statement.

We will indicate on the invoice when payment is due to our office; this method reduces confusion, discrepancies in payment due dates and lessens the chance that a binder is revoked by the carrier for non payment. Most carriers have different due dates for their premiums.

RENEWAL PROCESS
Sixty days prior to a renewal month, you will receive an expiration list of accounts from our office detailing the account’s summary information and which underwriter in our office is assigned to that renewal; please note, that the original underwriter may or may not be handling the same account on renewal. Please see Appendix E for a sample renewal cover memo and expiration list.

Approximately 45 - 30 days prior to an account’s expiration date, you will receive correspondence from the assigned renewal Account Manager requesting what materials (if any) will be required to obtain renewal terms; any renewal applications or requests for additional renewal materials (i.e. recent financial statements, updated company brochures, MVR’s, etc.) will be sent at this time. Please note that most accounts will require some sort of renewal application or confirmation of risk exposure.

Our goal is to get your renewal quotes to you as soon as possible so that you may present terms to your client in a timely manner. Please do not hesitate to contact the assigned renewal underwriter should you have any questions or concerns about an upcoming renewal.

POLICY ISSUANCE & MANAGEMENT


For our binding authority contracts, policy issuance, review and signature is done by our support and underwriting staff on premises. Having this process on site allows us to review our policies for accuracy and enables our office to get them to your office without having to wait for the carrier to issue them. All policies are reviewed and signed by a [licensed] underwriter in our office and are usually turned around within 30 days, assuming all contingencies have been met.

Endorsements, Cancellations and Extensions are also done in house for accounts written under our binding authority contracts. Extenuating circumstances aside, you can expect to receive these endorsements and their associated invoices (return premium, additional premium) in a timely fashion.

CLAIMS MANAGEMENT


We track all claims all claims in house regardless of the size of the claim or the nature of the account. Claims under the Lloyds policies are assigned locally to independent adjusters and after agreed settlements, the claim payments are issued from our office. Please submit all loss notices and claim information to Betty Silva at bsilva@decotisinsurance.com or feel free to fax any information to Betty’s attention at 401-351-0386.

ACCOUNTING MANAGEMENT
Our accounting, billing and payment functions are all handled in house. Please direct any billing inquiries, disputes, credits, invoice problems to Kristen Liguori kliguori@decotisinsurance.com.

As mentioned previously, we deal with many different carriers and all require their money at different times. Most binding authority premiums will be due the 25th of the month following the effective date. Brokerage markets have erratic due dates (usually 30 days from effective date), hence we have found that billing by invoice is more successful and less problematic than billing by a monthly statement. Therefore, you will receive an invoice with your account’s binder, and this invoice is the only billing notice you will receive; all invoices have the premium due date (i.e. date premium must arrive in our office) listed. You can always request additional copies of invoices at any time.