Surplus Lines
Surplus lines insurance contracts deal almost exclusively with business customers and are used to place insurance with companies that are not licensed in Minnesota. Surplus lines insurance brokers are licensed and regulated by the Department of Commerce.
- Homeowners Threshold for Surplus Lines (.pdf)
- Checklist for Eligible and Ineligible Insurers (.pdf)
Surplus Lines Checklist/Premium Tax. - U.S. domiciled surplus lines insurance carriers doing business in Minnesota do not need to be included on the eligibility list in order to write such coverage in Minnesota as long as the surplus lines carrier is licensed in its state of domicile to write the type of coverage being placed, and maintains a minimum of $15 million in capital and surplus. See Minn. Stat. 60A.206, subd. 3(b) and the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2010 (“NRRA”)
- Surplus Lines Association of Minnesota
This will link you to the Surplus Lines Association of Minnesota where you will find additional information. - Filings and Examinations
Resources and information for insurance companies, including rate and form filing, financial filing and reporting, and legislative updates.
Homeowners Insurance Threshold
Minnesota Statute §60A.201 Subdivision 2(c) requires that certain types of insurance be automatically presumed available from licensed insurance companies and therefore unavailable from surplus lines carriers. Included in these types of insurance are homeowners and property insurance on owner-occupied dwellings if the value is less than a specified dollar threshold. This dollar threshold was set at $500,000 when the original bill was enacted into law in 1981. The Department of Commerce has adjusted it annually since then, based on the change in the consumer price index for the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
Based on the consumer price index for the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, the revised statutory threshold is $1,900,000 (rounded to the nearest thousand).
Consumer Price Index for the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area
CPI-U Series ID: CUURS24ASA0
| Year | Index | % Change Since 1980 | 60A.201 Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 78.9 | N/A | $500,000 |
| 1981 | 88.6 | 12% | $561,500 |
| * | * | * | * |
| 1996 | 151.9 | 93% | $962,611 |
| 1997 | 155.4 | 97% | $984,791 |
| 1998 | 158.3 | 101% | $1,003,169 |
| 1999 | 163.3 | 107% | $1,034,854 |
| 2000 | 170.1 | 116% | $1,077,947 |
| 2001 | 176.5 | 124% | $1,118,504 |
| 2002 | 179.6 | 128% | $1,138,504 |
| 2003 | 182.7 | 132% | $1,157,795 |
| 2004 | 187.9 | 138% | $1,190,748 |
| 2005 | 193.1 | 145% | $1,224,000 |
| 2006 | 196.2 | 149% | $1,243,000 |
| 2007 | 201.2 | 155% | $1,275,000 |
| 2008 | 209.0 | 165% | $1,324,000 |
| 2009 | 207.9 | 164% | $1,317,000 |
| 2010 | 211.7 | 168% | $1,342,000 |
| 2011 | 219.3 | 178% | $1,390,000 |
| 2012 | 224.5 | 185% | $1,423,000 |
| 2013 | 228.8 | 190% | $1,450,000 |
| 2014 | 232.0 | 194% | $1,470,000 |
| 2015 | 230.6 | 192% | $1,461,000 |
| 2016 | 234.1 | 197% | $1,484,000 |
| 2017 | 239.2 | 203% | $1,516,000 |
| 2018 | 245.0 | 211% | $1,552,000 |
| 2019 | 250.1 | 217% | $1,585,000 |
| 2020 | 253.0 | 221% | $1,603,000 |
| 2021 | 265.2 | 236% | $1,681,000 |
| 2022 | 285.0 | 261% | $1,806,000 |
| 2023 | 292.7 | 271% | $1,855,000 |
| 2024 | 299.9 | 280% | $1,900,000 |