Surplus Lines

To begin submitting transactions to the Surplus Lines Association of MN Stamping office you must first register as a member Click on the Members tab on the SLAM homepage.

The terms of use agreement will then be displayed. You must read and agree to the terms of use by clicking the I Agree button before moving forward.

Next, confirm your surplus lines license number. If you do not have a license number you will have to contact the MN Dept of Commerce. If the system does not recognize your number, you will need to contact the stamping office to have your number added.

Once your license number is confirmed, you will be required to supply some personal and agency information. You will create your own username and password to be used to login to the system. Once registration has been completed, you may begin submitting your transactions online.

Note: Please remember to log off the system when you have completed your tasks by clicking the logout link.

To submit a new transaction, click on "File Transactions with SLAM" in the member menu. Note: You must be logged in to the system.

On the next page select the "File a new transaction" radio button. First confirm your License Number. Then provide the following information:

Insured Name – this can either be an individual’s name (full name) or a company name.

Insured Address – this is the insured’s physical address.

Risk Description – a brief description of the risk being insured.

Risk Address – the physical address of the risk being insured. This may or may not be the same as insured’s address.

Amount Insured – this is the total amount insured under the policy. If it is a multi peril policy, include the amount of property and liability coverage combined.

For example: If the property coverage is 500,000 and the liability coverage is 2,000,000, the amount insured would be $2,500,000.

Coverage Type – From the dropdown list, please select the type of coverage provided by the policy.

Eligible Insurer? – A list of eligible insurers in the state of MN can be found under the Documents tab in the Resources category. It can also be found at http://www.commerce.state.mn.us/LicenseLookupMain.html. Under the license lookup directory choose Insurance Company. Click Go. Then choose state Minnesota. Entity type: Company. Inquiry type: active company list. Company type: Surplus lines insurer and click submit.

SL Company Name – Name of the Surplus Lines Insurer.

SL Company NAIC# - Number assigned by National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Policy Number – Policy number of the policy this transaction is being filed on.

Transaction Effective Date – The date that the policy, renewal, endorsement, cancellation, or audit is effective.

Gross Premium -

Gross premiums are defined in Minn. Stat. § 297I.01, subd. 9 as follows:

"Subd. 9. Gross premiums. "Gross premiums" means total premiums paid by policyholders and applicants of policies, whether received in the form of money or other valuable consideration, on property, persons, lives, interests and other risks located, resident, or to be performed in this state, but excluding consideration and premiums for reinsurance assumed from other insurance companies. The term "gross premiums" includes the total consideration paid to bail bond agents for bail bonds. For title insurance companies, "gross premiums" means the charge for title insurance made by a title insurance company or its agents according to the company's rate filing approved by the commissioner of commerce without a deduction for commissions paid to or retained by the agent. Gross premiums of a title insurance company does not include any other charge or fee for abstracting, searching, or examining the title, or escrow, closing, or other related services. The term "gross premiums" includes any workers' compensation special compensation fund premium surcharge pursuant to section 176.129."

This can be either a positive or negative value. For example, if it was a return premium enter a – (minus) sign before the value.

Total Premium & Fees Subject to Surplus Lines Tax – Include all premium and fees paid by policyholder to obtain coverage. Do not include placement fees (M.S. Ch. 60A.204) or stamping fees.

M.S. Ch 60A.204, Subdivision 1.
Placement fees. A surplus lines licensee may charge, in addition to the premium charged by an eligible or ineligible surplus lines insurer, a fee to cover the cost incurred in the placement of the policy which exceeds $25, but only to the extent that the actual additional cost incurred for services performed by persons or entities unrelated to the licensee exceeds that amount. This can be either a positive or negative value. For example, if it was a return premium enter a – (minus) sign before the value.

Total premium subject to stamping fee – The stamping fee is based on the policy premium only. This can be either a positive or negative value. For example, if it was a return premium enter a – (minus) sign before the value.

When all fields have been completed, you can click finish. Please be advised: Once the transaction has been submitted, it cannot be edited.

A confirmation table will be displayed. The table will contain your stamping number and stamping fee for the transaction. Please retain this information in your office. The stamping number does not have to be attached to the policy. You can print this page by using the print this table link on the bottom of the page.

Under the members menu select “File Transactions with SLAM”. On the next page select the “File a renewal, endorsement, or cancellation transaction” radio button. Please provide your license number and PIN. Next provide either the policy number or stamping number for the account you would like to find. Select the transaction from the list of results. You may now file a renewal, endorsement, audit or cancellation for a previously entered transaction. Important: You must re enter the transaction effective date, transaction type, and the premium values. All other fields can also be amended. Please review the transaction info prior to submitting the transaction. A confirmation page and new stamping number will be assigned to the transaction upon successful submission.

To view your transaction history, you must first be logged in. If you are logged in, click on the members tab. Click on the View Transaction History link under Member Menu. The system will prompt you to provide your Surplus Lines License Number and PIN before viewing. A table will be displayed containing all transactions that have been submitted. You can view an individual transaction detail by clicking on the select link. Once the detail is opened, it can be printed by using the print this table link on the bottom of the screen. Transactions are sorted by effective date with most current displayed at the top of the table.

Click on generate periodic transaction report link in the member menu. You must be logged in and provide your license # and PIN. You will then input a begin date and end date for your report. The report is generated based on the dates transactions were filed. For example, to generate a transaction report for transactions filed in January, begin date would be 01/01/YYYY and end date would be 01/31/YYYY. The report would include all transactions that were filed in that timeframe.

This tool will also be used for semiannual reporting of stamping fees. **PLEASE BE ADVISED** For the first semiannual report you will want to use a start date of 11/01/2008 as many members began filing transactions in November 2008. For example, the first semiannual report can be generated with a begin date of 11/01/2008 and an end date of 06/30/2009. You can then total all of the stamping fees for this time period and submit the semiannual fee form and payment to the stamping office. The semiannual fee form can be found at the documents tab under resources.

The information or content of this site is not intended to provide specific advice about individual legal, business or other questions, and it is not a substitute for your independent research and evaluation of any issue. If specific legal or expert advice is required or desired, you should seek the services of an appropriate, competent professional.

The stamping fee applies to all surplus lines policies written or renewed after December 31, 2008. This includes all premium bearing transactions on these policies.

The current stamping fee is .0025 of the policy premium only. The surplus lines stamping fee is imposed on all premium bearing surplus line insurance transactions in the State of Minnesota by the authority of MN Law 2008, Chp. 366, Art. 17, Sec. 2, Subd. 7. The stamping fee funds the operations of the Surplus Lines Association of Minnesota. All surplus lines licensees are required by law to remit the stamping fee to the Surplus Lines Association of Minnesota. The law also permits the surplus lines licensee to collect the stamping fee from the insured.

Surplus lines tax is imposed on the surplus lines licensee. All premium bearing surplus lines transactions the licensee processes are subject to the surplus lines tax and the stamping fee.

Surplus lines tax payment will continue to be paid to the MN dept of Revenue as in the past. The stamping fee will be paid to the Surplus Lines Association of Minnesota.

Surplus Lines Tax is reported using MN Revenue form IG260. Form IG260 is due August 15 (for the six-month period ending June 30) and February 15 of the following year (for the six-month period ending December 31). This form must be filed even if no tax is due for the period. Completed form IG260 should be mailed to: Minnesota Revenue, Mail Station 1780, St. Paul, MN 55145-1780

Stamping fees are payable to the Surplus Lines Association of MN semi-annually. The stamping fee for policies and endorsements electronically filed 1/1 through 6/30 are due and payable 8/15. The stamping fee for policies and endorsements electronically filed 7/1 through 12/31 are due and payable 2/15.

Yes.

Surplus lines tax is allocated based on the portion of the risk written and located in a particular state. When submitting a multi-state policy to the association, the field Premium/Fees subject to tax is the Minnesota portion of the gross premium.

No.

The stamping fee is calculated based on the policy premium only. This includes all premium bearing endorsements, cancellations, audits, etc.

This list is available on the association website under the Documents tab in the Resources category. It can also be found at http://www.commerce.state.mn.us/LicenseLookupMain.html. Under the license lookup directory choose Insurance Company. Click Go. Then choose state Minnesota. Entity type: Company. Inquiry type: active company list. Company type: Surplus lines insurer and click submit.

If the transaction has been submitted and you realize a mistake was made, please email nschroeder@mnsla.com. You must include the insured name and the stamping number in your email message and request the transaction be amended. The association will amend the transaction and confirm it has been amended via email. You can then go back and file the entire corrected transaction again.

MN Law 2008, CH. 366, Art. 17, Sec. 3, Subd. 2. "It shall be unlawful for an insurance agent, broker, or surplus lines licensee to deliver in this state any surplus lines insurance policy or contract unless the insurance document is stamped by the association."

No. This information shall be retained in the surplus lines licensee's office.

All MN surplus lines licensees are required to have a Minnesota tax ID. A Minnesota tax ID is a seven-digit number issued by the Minnesota Department of Revenue for each surplus lines licensee. To register for a Minnesota tax ID, go to https://www.mndor.state.mn.us/er/ctrl/WelcomeController Licensees should register as a sole proprietor for surplus line insurance with the begin date in the month they became licensed for surplus lines. Agencies should not register since they are not licensees. You will need a social security number to complete registration.

The Surplus Lines Insurance Act can be found under MN Statute Chapter 60A.195 to 60A.209. MN Statute Chapter 297I is the section that covers specific insurance taxes. This information can be accessed here. Just type the specific chapter in the search box on the right side of the webpage.

Yes. The MN department of Revenue has a 24 hour TIP line. The number is 651) 297-5195 or 1-800-657-3500. Additional information regarding tax fraud reporting can be found here.