RECISSION OF BULLETIN 2019-015 AND REPLACEMENT BULLETIN FOR NOTICES REGARDING UNFAVORABLE CHANGES TO PUBLIC PROTECTION

STATE OF NEW MEXICO OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF INSURANCE SUPERINTENDENT OF INSURANCE Alice T. Kane Main Office: 1120 Paseo de Peralta, Fourth Floor, Santa Fe, NM 87501 Satellite Office: 6200 Uptown Blvd NE, Suite 400, Albuquerque, NM 87110 Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us BULLETIN 2024-022 October 29, 2024 TO: ALL RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY/CASUALTY INSURERS AND PROPERTY/CASUALTY RATING/ADVISORY ORGANIZATIONS RE: RECISSION OF BULLETIN 2019-015 AND REPLACEMENT BULLETIN FOR NOTICES REGARDING UNFAVORABLE CHANGES TO PUBLIC PROTECTION CLASSIFICATIONS AS REQUIRED BY INSURANCE CODE §59A-18-33, NMSA 1978 This Bulletin shall expire two years after the date it is issued by the Office of Superintendent of Insurance (the OSI) unless otherwise earlier rescinded, revoked or extended. This Bulletin rescinds and replaces Bulletin 2019-015 that provided implementation guidance based on the statutory text contained in the 2019 New Mexico State Legislature's House Bill 311. House Bill 311 was codified in NMSA 1978, §59A-18-33 of the Insurance Code with an effective date of January 1, 2020. The law contemplates cooperation between rating/advisory organizations, Insurers, and the OSI. This bulletin specifies how the notification law must be implemented. The statute provides: 59A-18-33. Notice. A. An organization that publishes information regarding the effectiveness of community fire protection or building code information, including public protection classifications, community grading, building code effectiveness classifications or fire suppression rating schedules for use by residential property insurers in this state, shall provide notice of any unfavorable change in a community's classification to the Office of Superintendent of Insurance. B U L L E T I N 2 0 2 4 - 0 2 2 P a g e | 2 Main Office: 1120 Paseo de Peralta, Fourth Floor, Santa Fe, NM 87501 Satellite Office: 6200 Uptown Blvd NE, Suite 400, Albuquerque, NM 87110 Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us B. Upon receiving notice of an unfavorable change in a community's public protection classification, community grading, building code effectiveness classification or fire suppression rating schedule, the Office of Superintendent of Insurance shall issue a bulletin notifying insurers of the change and the communities affected and instructing insurers to notify customers who may be adversely affected by the unfavorable change within ninety days of the publication of the bulletin. At the OSI, organizations that publish information, including Public Protection Classification (PPC) information, are called rating/advisory organizations. When the OSI is notified by a rating/advisory organization of a change to the PPC score for a community, the law requires the OSI to issue a bulletin notifying property insurers (Insurers), who have policyholdercustomers in the communities affected by the change, about the rating/advisory organization's change. The bulletin must instruct the Insurers to notify their customers who may be adversely affected by the change. Out of professional courtesy, the OSI may also request Insurers to notify customers who may be favorably affected by a change. RATING/ADVISORY ORGANIZATIONS Rating/advisory organizations must provide written notification at least ninety days before a retrogressed or downgraded score is intended to be published by the rating/advisory organization to the OSI of any unfavorable change in a New Mexico community's PPC. An unfavorable change includes a possible PPC score retrogression or a downgraded score. The notification must provide detail about the extent of, and the proposed effective date of, the retrogression or downgrade. The rating/advisory organization shall submit all communications via email to the Superintendent of Insurance, to the OSI Property & Casualty Chief Actuary, and to the Property & Casualty Bureau Chief. INSURERS After the OSI issues a community-specific bulletin to impacted Insurers, the Insurers must provide written notice to their affected customers within ninety days. The Insurer must notify the PPC rating/advisory organization that notice was provided. The Insurer notice must include this language, or language of similar meaning: B U L L E T I N 2 0 2 4 - 0 2 2 P a g e | 3 Main Office: 1120 Paseo de Peralta, Fourth Floor, Santa Fe, NM 87501 Satellite Office: 6200 Uptown Blvd NE, Suite 400, Albuquerque, NM 87110 Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us NOTICE OF A CHANGE IN YOUR COMMUNITY'S PUBLIC PROTECTION CLASSIFICATION THAT MAY IMPACT YOUR PROPERTY INSURANCE PREMIUM We provide you with residential property insurance. One of the many factors that impacts the availability of, or the premium payments charged for, residential property insurance is the public protection classification (PPC) score that applies to your community and the surrounding community. A PPC score is based on an evaluation of four major things which include, (1) Emergency Communication Systems, (2) Fire Department, (3) Water Supply and (4) Community Risk Reduction. Your community's PPC score is set by a rating/ advisory organization. The New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) was recently notified by your rating/advisory organization of changes in the PPC score for your community. Because the changes may increase or decrease the amount you pay for your property insurance with our company, or impact whether we will renew your coverage, the OSI directed us to inform you about the changes. We are giving you this notice within ninety days after the OSI notified us about the change. If you have any questions related to the change in your community's PPC score, or if your community wishes to improve its classification, you should contact a local government representative, such as the fire chief or a county commissioner and ask their help in developing a community improvement plan. If a community improvement plan is made, the rating/advisory organization that sets the PPC score for your community can evaluate that improvement plan and might be able to postpone publication of a downgraded PPC score. Please keep us informed whether you accept the PPC score change, or if your community will be seeking a community improvement plan. OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF INSURANCE After it is notified by a rating/advisory organization that a community's PPC change will adversely affect a community, the OSI must issue a community-specific bulletin to impacted Insurers who provide residential property insurance in that community. The bulletin must notify the Insurers that there has been a change to a community's PPC. Then, those Insurers have ninety days from the date the bulletin was issued to notify each of their policyholder-customers who may be adversely affected by the change. Every Bulletin will be published on the OSI website and will be distributed via the OSI newsletter. Any interested party may subscribe to receive newly issued bulletins through the link: B U L L E T I N 2 0 2 4 - 0 2 2 P a g e | 4 Main Office: 1120 Paseo de Peralta, Fourth Floor, Santa Fe, NM 87501 Satellite Office: 6200 Uptown Blvd NE, Suite 400, Albuquerque, NM 87110 Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us https://newsletter.osi.state.nm.us/ Should you have any questions relating to this bulletin please contact Melissa Robertson, Property & Casualty Bureau Chief at 505-670-2704 or Melissa.Robertson@osi.nm.gov. ISSUED this 29th day of October 2024. __________________________________ ALICE T. KANE Superintendent of Insurance