IA Property & Casualty cheat sheet

The Iowa Insurance Division (IID) regulates insurers and producers; the Commissioner is appointed by the Governor.

Iowa producer licenses run for three-year terms and require 36 CE hours per term, including 3 hours of ethics.

A producer must notify the IID of a change of address within 30 days.

A producer must report an administrative action or criminal prosecution to the IID within 30 days.

Insurers appoint producers by filing an appointment with the IID; appointment authority ends when the appointment is terminated.

Iowa's financial responsibility minimums for private passenger auto are $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident, and $15,000 property damage.

Iowa requires uninsured motorist coverage at liability limits unless the insured rejects it in writing.

Iowa is a tort state; modified comparative fault bars a claimant whose fault exceeds 50%.

Iowa workers compensation is mandatory for employers with employees and is administered by the Workers' Compensation Commissioner.

Indemnity restores the insured to the pre-loss financial position; it does not permit profit from a loss.

Actual cash value = replacement cost minus depreciation.

Coinsurance recovery = (insurance carried divided by required insurance) times loss, capped by the policy limit; required insurance = coinsurance percentage times value.

Insurable interest in property must exist at the time of loss.

Utmost good faith, adhesion, aleatory, and conditional are characteristics of insurance contracts.

A representation is a statement believed true; a concealment is intentional withholding of material fact; a warranty is a policy condition.

Proximate cause is an unbroken chain of events from a covered peril to the loss.

A deductible reduces the loss payment; a policy limit caps payment; coinsurance can reduce recovery when limits are inadequate.

Subrogation transfers the insured's right of recovery against a third party to the insurer after payment.

Property insurance covers direct physical damage; consequential losses such as lost income require business income or extra expense coverage.

Named-peril forms cover only listed perils; open-peril forms cover all risks of direct physical loss unless excluded.

The coinsurance clause requires the limit to equal a stated percentage of the property's value at the time of loss.

Replacement cost pays new-for-old without depreciation; actual cash value deducts depreciation.

Ordinance or law, debris removal, and preservation of property often carry separate limits or sublimits.

Flood and earthquake are commonly excluded and require separate policies or endorsements.

A blanket limit applies to multiple locations or property types; a specific limit applies to one item or location.

Builders risk covers property under construction; inland marine covers movable or transported property.

Salvage value reduces the covered loss, and an insured cannot abandon damaged property to the insurer.

Liability insurance pays sums the insured is legally obligated to pay as damages and provides a defense.

Occurrence policies respond to injury or damage during the policy period; claims-made policies respond when the claim is made.

CGL Coverage A covers bodily injury and property damage; Coverage B covers personal and advertising injury; Coverage C covers medical payments.

An umbrella policy can drop down to cover gaps in underlying coverage; an excess policy follows the form of the underlying policy.

Workers compensation exclusive remedy bars most employee tort suits against the employer.

Negligence requires duty, breach, proximate cause, and damages.

Personal injury includes libel, slander, and invasion of privacy; it is distinct from bodily injury.

Aggregate limits cap the total amount payable for all claims within a policy period.

Additional insured status requires an endorsement; a certificate of insurance is only evidence of coverage.

HO-3 covers the dwelling on an open-peril basis and personal property on a named-peril basis.

HO-5 covers both dwelling and personal property on an open-peril basis.

HO-2 is broad form, HO-4 is renters, HO-6 is condominium, and HO-8 is modified form for older homes.

Coverage A is dwelling, B other structures, C personal property, D loss of use, E liability, and F medical payments.

Typical special limits include $200 cash, $1,500 theft of jewelry, $2,500 firearms, and $2,500 silverware.

Dwelling coverage is commonly replacement cost; personal property is often actual cash value unless endorsed.

The mortgagee clause protects the lender's interest and requires notice of cancellation or nonrenewal.

HO Section II excludes business liability, auto liability, workers compensation, and intentional acts.

Dwelling policies DP-1, DP-2, and DP-3 cover property only; liability must be added by endorsement.

PAP Part A is liability, Part B medical payments, Part C uninsured/underinsured motorist, Part D physical damage, and Part E duties after an accident.

Split limits state per-person, per-accident, and property damage amounts; a combined single limit states one total amount.

UM pays when an at-fault driver has no insurance; UIM pays when the at-fault driver's limits are insufficient.

Collision covers impact with another vehicle or object; other-than-collision covers theft, fire, vandalism, and weather.

A newly acquired auto receives coverage subject to policy notice and temporary coverage rules.

A temporary substitute auto is covered while the covered auto is out of service.

Non-owned autos are covered for personal use; business use and vehicles for hire are commonly excluded.

Physical damage coverage is subject to a deductible; liability coverage has no deductible.

Iowa requires proof of financial responsibility and may require SR-22 filing after certain violations.

Commercial property covers building, business personal property, and personal property of others.

Causes of loss forms are basic, broad, and special; special is open peril.

Valuation options include actual cash value, replacement cost, agreed value, and extended replacement cost.

Business income pays lost net income and continuing expenses; extra expense pays costs to resume operations.

A businessowners policy packages property, general liability, and business income for eligible small businesses.

ISO BOP eligibility is limited by business class and size, commonly up to $6 million per building.

Tenant improvements and betterments and leasehold interest can be insured.

Equipment breakdown and spoilage coverage are optional and address losses not caused by a covered peril.

Flood is excluded and must be insured separately; earthquake coverage is added by endorsement.

CGL Coverage A pays bodily injury and property damage; Coverage B pays personal and advertising injury; Coverage C pays medical payments.

Occurrence forms cover injury or damage during the policy period; claims-made forms require a claim within the policy period or extended reporting period.

The CGL insuring agreement pays damages the insured is legally obligated to pay and provides defense.

Limits include each occurrence, general aggregate, products-completed operations aggregate, and personal/advertising injury.

Common exclusions include expected or intended injury, contractual liability, auto liability, workers compensation, pollution, and professional liability.

The your-work exclusion bars property damage to the insured's completed work; a subcontractor exception may restore coverage.

Additional insured status is granted by endorsement, not by a certificate of insurance.

The duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify and applies even to groundless claims.

Products liability and completed operations exposures are insured under the CGL.

Commercial auto symbols 1 through 9 identify covered autos such as any auto, owned autos, hired autos, and non-owned autos.

Motor carrier coverage, cargo coverage, and garage keepers coverage address specialized commercial auto exposures.

Workers compensation Part One pays statutory benefits, Part Two provides employers liability, and Part Three covers other states.

Workers compensation benefits are the exclusive remedy for work-related injury, subject to statutory exceptions.

Premium is adjusted by audit and experience modification; class codes reflect the work performed.

Sole proprietors, partners, and certain family farm workers may be excluded from workers compensation unless they elect coverage.

An umbrella liability policy can drop down over gaps; an excess policy follows the form of underlying coverage.

Commercial umbrella policies may sit over general liability, auto liability, and employers liability.

Iowa workers compensation is administered by the Workers' Compensation Commissioner.