Surplus Lines & ELANY Filing Support for New York Brokers

New York surplus lines brokers — those licensed to place business with non-admitted carriers — operate under one of the most rigorous regulatory regimes in the country. The Excess Line Association of New York (ELANY) serves as the stamping office for New York surplus lines transactions, and compliance with its procedures is not optional. For busy brokerages placing significant non-admitted volume, the administrative burden of surplus lines compliance is substantial and ongoing.

What ELANY Filing Requires

Every surplus lines placement in New York that meets the reporting threshold must be reported to ELANY within 15 days of binding. The filing process requires:

• Diligent search documentation — evidence that the risk was declined by at least three admitted carriers before being placed in the non-admitted market. The declination documentation must be specific to the risk and dated before the surplus lines placement.
• Stamping fee calculation and payment — ELANY collects a stamping fee on each transaction based on the gross premium. This must be calculated correctly and remitted on schedule.
• Policy and endorsement filing — copies of the policy, all endorsements, and supporting documents must be filed with ELANY within the required timeframe.
• Premium tax reporting — New York surplus lines premium tax must be calculated, tracked, and reported to the Department of Financial Services on a quarterly basis.
• Certificate requirements — certificates of insurance on surplus lines placements carry specific disclosure language required under New York law: the non-admitted carrier disclaimer must appear on ACORD 25 and other certificate forms.

Where Back-Office Support Adds the Most Value

The tasks that consume the most staff time in a surplus lines operation are not the coverage decisions — those belong with the licensed broker. They are the supporting work:

• Preparing and organizing diligent search documentation for each placement
• Tracking policy and endorsement delivery timelines against ELANY filing deadlines
• Entering placement data into the broker's AMS (Applied Epic, AMS360, or other systems) and into the ELANY reporting portal
• Calculating and tracking stamping fees and premium taxes across a large volume of transactions
• Issuing surplus lines certificates with the correct non-admitted disclosures and additional insured language
• Following up with carriers and wholesalers on outstanding policy documents needed to complete filings

These tasks are procedural, deadline-driven, and carry compliance consequences if missed. They are precisely the kind of work that benefits from dedicated, trained back-office support rather than being handled ad hoc by licensed brokers between client calls.

New York Market Knowledge Matters

Surplus lines back-office support is only as good as the provider's understanding of the market and regulatory environment. A back-office team that does not know the difference between a Lloyd's of London placement and a domestic surplus lines carrier, or that is unfamiliar with ELANY's specific portal and filing requirements, will create more compliance risk than they solve.

Clermont Global's team is trained in New York surplus lines procedures, ELANY filing requirements, and the specific AMS workflows used by New York surplus lines brokers. We handle the back-office burden of non-admitted placements — diligent search documentation, filing tracking, certificate issuance with proper disclosures, and AMS record management — so your brokers can focus on placing the risk.

If your surplus lines volume is growing and the administrative workload is becoming a constraint, book a discovery call to discuss how we can support your operation.