KS Property & Casualty cheat sheet

The Kansas Commissioner of Insurance is a statewide elected official serving a four-year term and heads the Kansas Insurance Department, which enforces the Kansas Insurance Code.

A producer must hold a Kansas license for each line sold and be appointed by an authorized insurer before soliciting, negotiating, or selling that insurer's products.

Kansas producers renew biennially and must complete 24 hours of continuing education per two-year term, including at least 3 hours of ethics.

The Kansas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association responds to covered claims against insolvent member insurers, generally up to $300,000 per claim.

Kansas minimum financial responsibility limits for private passenger autos are $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident bodily injury plus $25,000 property damage.

Kansas is a no-fault state: PIP must provide at least $4,500 medical, $4,500 work loss, $4,500 rehabilitation, $25 per day in-home services, and $2,000 survivor loss.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage must be offered at limits equal to the liability limits; the insured may reject it only in writing.

For a policy in force more than 60 days, Kansas requires 30 days' written notice of cancellation; 10 days' notice applies for nonpayment of premium.

The Kansas Unfair Trade Practice Act prohibits misrepresentation, twisting, rebating, coercion, and unfair claim settlement practices.

Valid contract elements: offer and acceptance, consideration, legal purpose, and competent parties.

Insurance contract characteristics: adhesion (insurer drafts the form), aleatory (unequal exchange), unilateral (only the insurer makes an enforceable promise), conditional, and personal.

Loss ratio = incurred losses / earned premium. Combined ratio = loss ratio + expense ratio; a result above 100% is an underwriting loss.

Insurable interest in property must exist at the time of loss; in life insurance it must exist at policy inception.

Risk management techniques: avoidance, retention, reduction (loss control), sharing, and transfer (insurance).

Hazards: physical (tangible conditions), moral (dishonesty), morale (carelessness or indifference), and legal (court-awarded damages).

Producer authority: express (written in the agency contract), implied (customary to perform duties), and apparent (the insurer's conduct leads third parties to believe authority exists).

Negligence elements: legal duty, breach of duty, proximate cause, and actual damages; defenses include comparative/contributory negligence and assumption of risk.

Subrogation lets the insurer pursue a negligent third party after paying a loss, preventing the insured from collecting twice.

COPE rating exposures: Construction, Occupancy, Protection (fire protection), and External exposure.

ACV = replacement cost minus depreciation. Replacement cost forms pay to repair or replace with new material of like kind and quality, up to the limit.

Commercial coinsurance recovery = (limit carried / limit required) x loss, never exceeding the policy limit or the actual loss.

HO-3 insures the dwelling on an open-perils basis and personal property for named perils; HO-5 is open perils on both; HO-8 is for older or limited-valuation homes.

A mortgage/loss payable clause gives the mortgagee the right to receive loss payments and usually to notice of cancellation, proof of loss, and to pay premium to protect its interest.

Standard property exclusions: earth movement, flood and surface water, ordinance or law, intentional loss, neglect, war, nuclear hazard, and wear and tear or marring.

Commercial causes-of-loss forms: basic (fire, lightning, explosion, windstorm/hail, smoke, vandalism, sprinkler leakage), broad (adds breakage, falling objects, water damage), special (open perils).

Vacancy for the stated period (typically 60 days) reduces covered loss by 15% and bars several perils; unoccupancy alone does not trigger that penalty.

Common additional coverages: debris removal, trees and shrubs (5% of Coverage A, $500 per item), reasonable repairs, collapse, and $500 for credit cards or forgery.

CGL Coverage A pays bodily injury and property damage the insured is legally obligated to pay because of an occurrence; Coverage B is personal and advertising injury; Coverage C is medical payments regardless of fault.

CGL limits: each occurrence, damage to premises rented to you, medical expense, personal and advertising injury, general aggregate, and products-completed operations aggregate.

Occurrence forms respond to injury or damage occurring during the policy period whenever claimed; claims-made forms respond when the claim is made, subject to the retroactive date.

Workers compensation: Part One pays statutory benefits with no dollar limit, Part Two (employers liability) covers employee tort suits, Part Three lists other states.

Commercial auto symbols: 1 = any auto, 7 = specifically described autos, 8 = hired autos, 9 = non-owned autos.

Liability loss exposures: premises and operations, products and completed operations, contractual, liquor, and personal/advertising injury.

Umbrella or excess liability provides limits above scheduled underlying policies and can drop down over a self-insured retention for gaps.

Workers compensation is the exclusive remedy for work-related injury in most states, barring employee tort suits against the employer.

Forms: HO-2 broad, HO-3 special, HO-5 comprehensive, HO-4 renters (contents), HO-6 condominium unit owners, HO-8 modified; DP-1, DP-2, DP-3 are dwelling forms, and DP-1 has no liability coverage.

HO coverages: A dwelling, B other structures, C personal property, D loss of use, E personal liability, F medical payments to others.

Personal property away from the residence is limited to 10% of Coverage C; special sublimits apply to money ($200), securities ($1,500), jewelry theft ($1,500), firearms theft ($2,500), and silverware theft ($2,500).

Personal auto policy parts: A liability, B medical payments or PIP, C uninsured/underinsured motorists, D collision and other than collision; plus towing and transportation expense coverages.

Newly acquired auto: 14 days of automatic coverage for coverages already carried, but only 4 days for collision when no listed auto carries collision.

NFIP flood insurance generally has a 30-day waiting period; residential maximums are $250,000 on the building and $100,000 on contents, and homeowners policies exclude flood.

Personal umbrella policies require underlying limits (commonly 250/500/100 auto and $300,000 homeowners), pay excess of those limits, and apply a self-insured retention to uncovered losses.

The BOP combines property, general liability, and business income for eligible small businesses such as offices, retail stores, and apartments; ineligible classes need a commercial package policy.

Commercial property coinsurance is commonly 80%; the Agreed Value option suspends coinsurance in exchange for a higher rate.

Business income pays lost net income plus continuing expenses during the period of restoration; extra expense pays costs that let the insured resume operations sooner.

The CGL occurrence form is CG 00 01; the claims-made form is CG 00 02 and adds a retroactive date, extended reporting periods, and a claims-made aggregate.

Additional insured endorsements include CG 20 10 (ongoing operations) and CG 20 37 (completed operations); a certificate of insurance does not amend or create coverage.

Workers compensation premium depends on class codes, payroll, and the experience modification factor; a premium audit determines the final earned premium after expiration.

Commercial auto symbols 1, 7, 8, and 9 define which autos are covered; businesses whose employees drive personal cars usually need hired and non-owned auto liability.

Specialty commercial coverages include builders risk, equipment breakdown, inland marine (motor truck cargo, bailee), and umbrella/excess liability that follows the underlying forms.