Surplus Lines

W hen Montana is the home state at the time of the surplus lines insurance transaction, surplus lines filings are made on approved forms provided by the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Office of the State Auditor (CSI).

Rules regarding Surplus Lines are outlined in Montana Code Annotated. Montana imposes a 2.75% premium tax that is calculated on the total premium. A 2.5% fire tax pertains to the portion of the policy on which fire coverage premium is being charged.

Download the Filing Handbook
On-Line Submissions

You can review your entries for the past year and enter your submissions, endorsements and cancellations. On-line submissions save you money. The stamping fee is .25% for hard copy submissions. Using the on-line system, you do not have to submit paper copies of your forms to our office.  Note:  you are still responsible to keep copies for your internal recordkeeping. Surplus line taxes and fees are due annually on April 1. Please do not send tax and fee payments with your submission form. See our End of Year Filing Procedures for more information.

Lists

To submit suggested changes to the Surplus Line Approved Risk List or if you have any questions about Montana Surplus Lines, please call Pam Daugherty at (406) 444-9751 or email Pam at pdaugherty@mt.gov

You can enter transactions, review your account and access your annual statement online. If you are a first time user, contact Pam Daugherty at (406) 444-9751 to get assistance signing on to the system.
Surplus Lines Login
Filing Forms
Instructions of some common submission scenarios:
Surplus Lines Producer Stamps required on Declarations Page for Hard Copy Submission
Effective January 1, 2010, ARM 6.6.2804(6) states “for all paper (hard copy) submissions, the stamping fee information on the declarations page of the surplus lines insurance policy will disclose that the stamping fee would be less, and the percentage of the base premium to calculate the stamping fee, if the submission were filed electronically.”

STAMP EXAMPLE:
“The insured pays a stamping fee for the review and processing of surplus lines insurance policy submissions that are filed in paper. This surplus lines insurance submission is being filed in paper (hard copy) format at a stamping fee of .25%.  Surplus lines insurance submissions can be filed electronically with NO stamping fee, saving the insured .25%.”

Refund of Surplus Lines Taxes and Fees

All refunds issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, Montana State Auditor must have a completed form W-9 with a year-end surplus lines tax statement that supports the refund. The W-9 form must be completed annually by either an agency (which may be used for more than one agent) or for each individual agent.

Please contact Tim Morris at 406-444-4489 if you have any questions on the completion of the W-9 form or on your surplus lines tax statement.