SURPLUS LINES SOLUTIONS

Surplus Lines Tax Filing Services

InsCipher’s Filing Services™ takes the guesswork out of surplus lines filing and reporting. Simply upload your policies to our surplus lines management software, InsCipher Connect®, via our data entry wizard, batch import, or API data transfer, and our team will manage your surplus lines filing, payments, and reporting from here. Never stress about regulatory compliance requirements, ever-changing tax rates, or missed deadlines again! Book a free consultation today – in your 30-minute consultation we’ll help you strategize the best way to simplify your surplus lines processes to save you time and money so you can focus on what matters most–growing your business.
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Surplus Lines Tax Filing 101

Whether you’re new to surplus lines tax filings or trying to free up time to grow your business, one thing is true – surplus lines tax filings are complicated. Between different state requirements and reporting periods, it is hard to track all the different deadlines. Let InsCipher help with your surplus lines filing services.

Surplus lines tax filing and reporting is a challenging and tedious process. After an E&S policy has been written, it must be filed in the state where the policy is written. Since there is no federal regulation for excess and surplus lines policies, each state creates its own specific rules for surplus lines filing and reporting.

Once a policy is filed, taxes and stamping fees must be paid to the appropriate state offices. Surplus lines payments can be due either monthly, quarterly, or annually, with reporting submission methods varying by the state as well. It can get more complicated in states such as Kentucky, where surplus lines tax rates are assessed based on individual municipalities where the risk is located.

But wait, there's more!

Once you’ve filed the surplus lines policy and paid the appropriate surplus lines taxes, in most states you must also file a separate report summarizing all the policies you’ve submitted in a given period. This reporting period will vary by state and can either be monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.

InsCipher tracks all these E&S reporting requirements across all 50 states, so you don’t have to. Let us manage your surplus line compliance, so you can grow your business.

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Surplus Lines Tax Filing Services Benefits

There are many reasons to outsource your surplus lines tax filings and reports. It can be a complicated and time-consuming process. At InsCipher, we do the heavy lifting for you with our simple and easy submission process. Plus, our team is proudly based 100 percent in the U.S.A. 

Free up time

InsCipher frees up your time, so you can focus on what you do best–growing your business. So go ahead, write all the non-admitted insurance policies you can, and let InsCipher take care of the surplus lines filings, reporting, and payments for you. Our surplus lines filing team uses cloud-based surplus lines software to manage policy and reporting deadlines across all 50 states, as well as D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

Simple to Use

How do we make surplus lines tax filing easy? Simple with our Surplus Lines Tax Filing Services. First, we provide a simple-to-use online portal to get your surplus lines policies into our system. We offer several API options, facilitating the transfer of policy information from your system directly to ours. We have several pre-built APIs with popular agency management systems, such as Veratore AIM™.

How do we make surplus lines tax filing easy? First, we provide a simple-to-use online portal to get your surplus lines policies into our system. We offer several API options, facilitating the transfer of policy information from your system directly to ours. We have several pre-built APIs with popular agency management systems, such as Veratore AIM™.

Reporting & Compliance

Once your surplus lines policies are entered into InsCipher’s web-based portal, our automated reconciliation tools get to work and flag any immediate reporting errors. Our built-in surplus lines tax calculator will review each policy for correct surplus lines taxes and state stamping fees. Our filing compliance team then manually reviews each policy for compliance and will notify you of any required action needed by you or your team.

Easy Surplus Lines Tax Payment

InsCipher simplifies the process for paying surplus lines taxes in all the states where you write business. No more logging into the individual state’s sites and paying fees and taxes one-by-one. You send one payment to InsCipher covering all your surplus lines taxes in all 50 states, and we will make all payments for you.

On average, clients who switch to InsCipher
save 15-20% on filing services.

How much will you save?

Surplus Lines Tax Software

If you already have a surplus lines filing team, then our InsCipher Connect™ system is the ideal enhancement to your agency. Our surplus lines tax filing software helps companies monitor surplus lines filings company-wide, providing helpful surplus lines automation tools to track payments, fees, and surplus lines filing deadlines. With InsCipher Connect™ you can electronically file E&S policies directly to the states and state stamping offices, reducing error, time, and stress.

Timing of surplus lines filings varies by state, making tracking surplus lines deadlines difficult. Adding to the frustration, excess, and surplus lines tax reports can be due monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or yearly, and keeping track of related surplus lines reports becomes a monumental task.

InsCipher’s surplus lines tax filing services team specializes in surplus lines requirements and will file, pay, and report surplus lines taxes on your behalf. Or, if you are looking for ways to enhance your filing team’s efficiency, we offer surplus lines tax software to make surplus lines management as intuitive as possible. Surplus lines taxes are made easy with InsCipher.

InsCipher Connect Surplus Lines Management Software
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Surplus Lines Compliance

InsCipher gives you the ability to sell more excess and surplus lines policies without the added stress of maintaining insurance compliance. Surplus lines compliance is complicated, with states having their own deadlines, fees, forms, and filing processes.

The cost of not paying attention to surplus lines compliance is high and can result in steep penalties and fees, and even the loss of surplus lines licenses if not properly addressed.

surplus lines filing notifications

Surplus Lines Zero Report Filings

Insurance compliance is difficult, especially when it comes to managing surplus lines zero reports. A zero report is filed for a surplus lines license that did not write any policies in a given period, whether it be a month, quarter, or year. With over half the states and territories in the US currently requiring zero report filings, surplus lines license management becomes a challenge. Tracking inactive surplus lines licenses across the states becomes a full-time job on its own.

InsCipher manages your surplus lines licenses and will file zero reports for you, so you can get back to doing what’s important–writing new business.

surplus lines tax calculations for all 50 states

Surplus Lines Filing Requirements by State

Avoid fees

Each state has unique filing and reporting regulations. It is important to closely monitor each states’ specific fees, forms, and specific deadlines. What adds to the difficulty is that these tax rates, deadlines, and forms are always changing. The cost of neglecting surplus lines compliance is high, with each state charging penalties and fees for non-compliance.

Tax Calculator

Our built-in surplus lines tax calculator automatically reconciles state taxes and fees on policies as they come into our system, so you can trust that your policy submissions and reports are accurate.

We are here to help you stay on top of surplus lines insurance compliance. InsCipher works closely with state stamping offices and surplus lines associations to make sure we have the most up-to-date information.

InsCipher is the current software provider for the Surplus Lines Association of Utah (slaut.org), and the Surplus Lines Association of Idaho, so we know first-hand how to work with the state surplus lines offices to keep you compliant.

Surplus Lines Reports

So you made the appropriate surplus lines tax filings and paid the surplus lines taxes, now what? In most cases, the job is not complete. After an excess lines policy is filed, agencies need to ensure that they file the additional state surplus lines reports that follow. Each state has a different time period in which these E&S reports need to be filed, and these reports can be due either monthly, quarterly, or annually.

InsCipher can file these state surplus lines reports for you, or provide the software you need to make sure you file the right report at the right time. Want to learn more? Request a free consultation today and a member of our team will reach out to determine the solution that fits your needs.

1200000

+

Transactions Filed/yr

54

+

States & Territories

$

16000000000

in Premiums Processed/yr

0

+

Licenses Managed

Helping our clients simplify surplus line tax filing, one agency at a time.

You have nothing to lose but inefficient processes.

Get started today. Request your free quote.