Property & Casualty Filing Instructions

Minnesota Statutes 70A.02, Subd. 1; and 70A.06

1. The Minnesota Department of Commerce is authorized to review the following: 1) casualty insurance; 2) fidelity, surety, and guaranty bonds; 3) fire and allied lines insurance; and 4) inland marine insurance.
2. Except as exempt by statute or administrative rule, every licensed insurer and rate service organization MUST file the following with the Department of Commerce:
   1. Rates/rules and revisions thereto, for use in Minnesota, no later than their effective date; (file and use) and
   2. Policy forms delivered or issued for delivery in Minnesota (prior approval).
   3. Note: Most commercial filings do not need to be filed with the Department. See Bulletin 95-2 for specifics.
   4. Note: Filings made solely to change company name or officer signature, correct printing errors, or make editorial changes must be filed and are subject to filing fees described below. (Minn. Rule 2605.0400(c))
   5. Note: "Me Too" Filings within a group of filings do not need to be re-filed in their entirety. However, any forms containing revised information, such as a different company name or office (i.e. declarations pages), must still be filed.

Minnesota Statute 70A.06

1. Rates and Rules must be filed with the Department of Commerce prior to their effective date. (File & Use)
2. Forms are subject to prior approval by the Department.
3. If 60 days have elapsed since the filing was made and the Department has not disapproved the filing, then the forms filing may be deemed approved. However, the Commissioner may extend this period up to an additional 60 days.
4. We make every effort to review filings prior to the elapsing of 60 days. If a file is deemed approved by the Department, it will be identified by state status code 79 - Not Reviewed. Companies are advised that filings deemed approved must still comply with all applicable laws and regulations in accordance with their filing certification.
5. The 60 day period starts on the day after the filing is received. When the 60th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the time period shall be extended to the next business day.

1. File Formats: Files must be submitted in PDF format and be less than 3MB in size. Attachments that are larger than 3 megabytes must be split into parts each of which must be less than 3 megabytes. All spreadsheets and Word documents must be converted to ".pdf" documents before they are attached to a filing. They should be created using the Acrobat Distiller and not scanned. The filing may be rejected if it contains scanned documents, non-pdf documents, or files greater than 3MB in size.
2. Multiple Forms and/or companies: See paragraph 12c below.
3. Special Forms: See the SERFF Requirements section for required forms, including special certification forms for expedited homeowners, personal auto and professional liability filings.
4. Special Content Requirements for Attachments: No specific instructions at this time.

1. Filings are public upon their effective date, unless confidentiality has been appropriately requested and approved.
2. Confidential Information/Trade Secrets. When requesting that filing materials be kept confidential or classified as trade secrets, carriers must address the requirements set out in the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA), Minn. Stat. ch. 13. The MGDPA under Minnesota Statute 13.03 states that all government data collected, created received, maintained or disseminated by a state agency shall be public unless classified as a nonpublic document. A carrier claiming that a document it delivered to a state agency is classified as nonpublic must point to the specific statute or rule that clearly establishes the nonpublic designation of that document. If a carrier wishes to assert confidential/trade secret status of a document, they must clearly describe how the requirements of Minnesota Statute 13.37, subd. 1(b) are met. The department will then determine whether the requirements of the statute are met. The Department will be publishing a bulletin on this subject by the end of 2007.

No specific instructions at this time

1. Status in Domicile. There are no requirements for a company to have a prior filing or approval of their forms in their state of domicile.
2. Reference Organization. No specific instructions at this time.
3. Filing Description. A separate cover letter is no longer required. For ease of intake and assignment, filers are encouraged to be as descriptive as possible in this field.

Fill out all fields

1. Rate Data: At a minimum you must provide the rate information requested in the Rate Rule Schedule Summary and the State Specific fields.
2. Company Rate Information: At a minimum you must provide the rate information requested in the Company Rate Information fields and the State Specific fields.
3. Rate/Rule Schedule: At a minimum you must provide the rate information requested in the State Specific fields.

Supporting documents should be attached to the appropriate requirement.

Filers are required to answer the state specific fields. Complete answers will help speed the intake, assignment and review of your filing. Remember, they are not editable after you have submitted the filing. Therefore, repeated failures to complete the state specific fields may result in your filings be rejected. Please note that "TBD" or other similar placeholder is not an acceptable answer to any of the questions and will delay intake of your filing.a

No specific instructions at this time

1. A fee of $125 is required for a rate, rules, rate and rules, or a forms filing.
2. A fee of $250 is required for a rate and/or rules & a forms filing.
3. A separate fee is also required for each company in a multi-company filing.
4. NO fee is required for the withdrawal of any filing.
5. We requre the use of EFT.
6. Please complete the state specific requirements regarding fees.

In general, the use of these tools is preferred over email or telephone calls.

1. Response Letter: Filers have 21 days to respond to objection letters. Failure to respond to an objection letter within 30 days may cause the filing to be disapproved unless an extension is requested and granted.
2. General Amendment: This tool should only be used to submit new documents not yet reviewed. It should not be used for responding to an objection.
3. Note to Reviewer: No specific instructions at this time.
4. Disposition: No specific instructions at this time.
5. Effective Date Changes: No specific instructions at this time.