OH P&C cheat sheet

The Ohio Department of Insurance is headed by a Superintendent appointed by the Governor; it licenses producers, reviews rate and form filings, conducts market conduct examinations, and monitors insurer solvency.

To obtain a resident Ohio property and casualty producer license, an applicant must complete the required prelicensing education, pass the state licensing exam, and be appointed by an insurer.

Ohio producer licenses renew biennially by the last day of the licensee's birth month; renewal requires 24 continuing education hours, including at least 3 hours of ethics.

An insurer must file a producer appointment within 30 days after the first application is submitted, and must report termination of an appointment to the Department within 30 days.

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

Insurers must offer uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage at limits equal to the liability limits; the named insured may reject the coverage in writing.

Cancellation of a personal auto policy requires at least 30 days' written notice; when cancellation is for nonpayment of premium, 10 days' notice is required.

Premiums collected by a producer are held in a fiduciary capacity, and commingling premium funds with agency operating funds is prohibited.

Unfair trade practices include misrepresentation, rebating, twisting, false advertising, coercion, and unfair claim settlement practices; the Superintendent may fine, suspend, or revoke a license.

Only pure risk (loss or no loss) is insurable; speculative risk, which carries a chance of gain, is not insurable.

A peril is the cause of a loss (fire, wind, collision); a hazard is a condition that increases the chance or severity of loss and may be physical, moral, or morale.

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

Valid insurance contracts require offer and acceptance, consideration, legal purpose, and competent parties; they are also contracts of indemnity, aleatory, and adhesion, and require utmost good faith.

Coinsurance formula: (limit carried divided by limit required) multiplied by the loss, then subtract the deductible.

Actual cash value equals replacement cost minus depreciation; replacement cost coverage pays to repair or replace with new property of like kind and quality without depreciation.

Rates must be adequate to pay losses and expenses, must not be excessive, and must not unfairly discriminate among risks with similar characteristics.

A producer's authority may be express (written in the agency agreement), implied (customary to perform the duties), or apparent (a third party reasonably believes it exists); waiver and estoppel can bind the insurer.

Adverse selection is the tendency of poorer-than-average risks to seek or retain coverage, and is controlled through underwriting, risk classification, and deductibles.

Homeowners forms: HO-2 broad, HO-3 special, HO-4 renters, HO-5 comprehensive, HO-6 condominium unit owners, and HO-8 modified for older homes.

The HO-3 insures the dwelling on an open-peril basis but insures personal property for named perils only.

Standard HO limits: Coverage B other structures is 10% of Coverage A; Coverage C personal property is 50% of A; Coverage D loss of use is 30% of A; Coverage E personal liability is $100,000; Coverage F medical payments is $1,000.

Dwelling losses settle at replacement cost only when the Coverage A limit is at least 80% of the dwelling's full replacement cost.

Homeowners special limits include $200 for money, $1,500 for theft of jewelry, $2,500 for theft of silverware, and $2,500 for theft of firearms; personal property away from the residence is limited to 10% of Coverage C.

Common property exclusions include earth movement, flood, ordinance or law, neglect, intentional loss, freezing while the dwelling is vacant, and nuclear hazard.

Dwelling policies DP-1 (basic), DP-2 (broad), and DP-3 (special) insure the structure; liability coverage is optional rather than automatic.

Commercial property coinsurance requires insurance to a stated percentage of value, commonly 80%, 90%, or 100%; business income coverage typically carries a 72-hour waiting period.

National Flood Insurance Program policies generally take effect 30 days after application, and residential maximums are $250,000 on the building and $100,000 on contents.

Personal auto policy parts: A liability, B medical payments, C uninsured/underinsured motorists, D damage to your auto, E duties after an accident, and F general provisions.

A newly acquired auto is automatically covered for up to 14 days; the insured must ask the insurer to add the vehicle to the policy.

Commercial general liability coverage parts: Coverage A bodily injury and property damage, Coverage B personal and advertising injury, Coverage C medical payments.

CGL limits include the per-occurrence limit, general aggregate, products-completed operations aggregate, personal and advertising injury limit, and damage to premises rented to you.

An occurrence policy responds to injury or damage that occurs during the policy period; a claims-made policy responds to claims first made during the policy period, subject to the retroactive date.

Ohio follows modified comparative negligence: a claimant 50% or less at fault recovers damages reduced by that percentage; a claimant more than 50% at fault recovers nothing.

Ohio's auto financial responsibility minimums are 25/50/25, and proof of financial responsibility such as an SR-22 filing may be required after certain violations.

Most Ohio employers obtain workers' compensation coverage through the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation; benefits are statutory and paid without regard to fault.

Business auto covered auto symbols 1 through 9 designate which autos are covered, and the MCS-90 endorsement applies to for-hire interstate carriers.