Virginia Automobile Insurance Plan ()

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the current revision dates for VA paper applications?
	private passenger	1/08
	commercial	6/08
	garage	2/08

2. How do I order manuals/applications? You can print a copy of the supply order form and mail it along with a check or money order to the address shown or you can call Mail Order Management at (401) 942-9799 to order forms using a credit card. Express Mail delivery is also available. You may also download both the manual and applications from our website (http://www.aipso.com/va). 3. Can I order applications/manuals before I am certified through the Producer Certification Program? No. Before ordering supplies, you must first complete the Producer Certification application and mail it to our office. You must be on our computer system as temporarily certified before you are eligible to order supplies. 4. How do I bind coverage? Any completed application, with check, that is mailed with a U.S. postmark no later than the next working day will ensure that coverage is bound. Weekends or holidays coming after the application is completed are not counted as the next working day. See section 7.B and 23 of the VA Plan Manual for further mailing instructions. 5. What do I send to the plan? two copies of the fully completed application or only the original if using EASi deposit check finance agreement if applicable declarations page if requesting assignment under household rules supplementary vehicle schedule if necessary 6. What kind of deposits are acceptable? The deposit check must be either a cashier's check, certified check, producer's check, or money order payable to VAIP. 7. What payment options are available to the insured? Either full annual premium or the 40/30/30 installment option. Full annual premium is required on all financed applications, garage applications, and fleets. Refer to section 6.A & B and 22 of the VA Manual for further details. 8. Is it acceptable if the owner/100% driver has a learner's permit? Yes. The plan considers anyone with a learner's permit to be a licensed operator and there need not be any other drivers listed on the policy.

9. Are applicants that are in the military required to hold a VA license/registration? In order to be eligible for the Plan, persons in the military must either have their vehicle registered in VA or be stationed in VA. And, as long as they hold a valid driver's license in one of the states or a U.S. possession, they are eligible. 10. What do I do if I have a complaint against a company? Complete a company complaint form which is available on our website in the Forms Library or you may call the Plan (804-217-9990) to have it mailed or faxed to you. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the form. A customer service assistant will review and record the complaint and take appropriate action to resolve the matter. 11. How are SR22's/FR44's filed? Once an assignment by computer has been made, SR22's and FR44’s for the State of Virginia requiring immediate coverage are filed on-line with the VA Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) by our office. SR22's and FR44’s for the State of Virginia with future coverage dates are filed manually and mailed to the VA DMV. SR22's required for states other than Virginia are handled by the assigned company. 12. How are Form E's filed? Once an assignment by computer has been made, Form E's are filed online with the VA DMV. 13. Do I charge points for a seatbelt violation? No. The only equipment violation that is chargeable is improper brakes. (View list of one-point moving traffic violations) 14. How long do I charge for points? Points are charged on applicable convictions and accidents that occur during the experience period, which is the 36 months immediately preceding the effective date of coverage and/or date of renewal. 15. Does the plan offer rating discs or quotes? Certified producers may access the Plan's private passenger rating engine at www.aipso.com/easi . The rating engine is integrated with the EASi private passenger mechanism and allows producers to calculate an estimated rate for certain private passenger risks. It is up to the individual producer to rate any policies not available to be rated through the EASi rater by using the VA Plan Manual or by obtaining a rating disc from an independent vendor. 16. How do I notify the Plan of a change of address? It is a requirement of the Producer Certification Program that the Plan be notified of any change of address. We must receive something in writing including your producer certification number, a telephone number, and your new address in order to update our files. You may mail or fax us this information. 17. How do I handle vehicle additions/deletions/changes? A completed policy change request form must be mailed or faxed directly to the assigned company no later than the first working day after it is completed. However, if an assignment has not been made at the time the policy change request is completed, the policy change request must be mailed or faxed directly to the Plan office so that it can be forwarded to the company once an assignment is made. See Section 7.C and 23.D of the VA Plan Manual for complete details. 18. What are the eligibility requirements for a named non-owner policy? The applicant must be a resident of the state who holds a valid operator's license and who does not own any vehicles titled in his/her name. 19. Are international licenses acceptable? As long as the applicant is not a permanent resident of the state, international licenses are acceptable. 20. What are the maximum liability limits available through the Plan? 100/300/50 or a combined single limit of $350,000 for CAIP risks unless higher limits are required by law or regulation (see Rule 23 for private passenger, and Rule 52 for commercial)
21. If the applicant is already being charged points on another policy through the voluntary market, do we charge for points on the Plan policy? No, just provide proof of coverage on the other policy either as a named insured or principal operator (copy of declaration page). 22. What if there is a title change during the policy period? Any change in title would necessitate that a new policy be written. The original policy would have to be cancelled and a new application would have to be submitted to the Plan with the corrected title. 23. If a commercial vehicle is added to a personal policy mid term, this would make the risk eligible for CAIP? The company must initially accept the vehicle addition. The company then has the option of giving 45 days notice of cancellation or just non-renewing the policy. The producer would then complete a new application which would be assigned to a commercial carrier.
24. What is the additive expense fee? The additive expense fee is a fixed expense common to all risks. This fee has always been part of the base rates for personal policies. However, in past editions of the Virginia Manual, the fee was not listed separately, but incorporated into the base rate. See Rule 21 - Premium Development - for more information. 25. Does the Plan appoint producers? No. The Plan does not appoint individuals to write business through us because we are not an insurance company. However, producers who hold a valid Property & Casualty license are eligible to submit applications to the Plan and receive commissions once they are certified through our Producer Certification Program. 26. Can a producer request a certain insurance company for his insured? No. All applicants are randomly assigned and are distributed to insurance companies in proportion to the amount of business each insurer writes voluntarily in the state. The only exception to this procedure is when automobile insurance coverage is in effect on a vehicle owned by a member of the household, coverage can be assigned to that carrier provided a copy of the declaration page accompanies the original application. See Section 40.D. for further information. 27. Can rate class change during the policy period? Yes. Refer to Rule 8 of the VA Manual. 28. If you have one youthful operator who drives two vehicles, do you charge the youthful class for both vehicles? No, you only charge the youthful class once. The youthful class should be equal to the number of youthful operators. 29. What if the business use class and youthful class both apply? Always charge the highest rated class - in this case, youthful. 30. Can coverage be bound with an impending storm? Yes. 31. What should a producer do when he sells his business to a new agent? The Plan is not involved with the transition process. The producer should complete a change of broker letter signed by himself and the new producer listing the new producer's address, telephone number, and tax identification number and send it to all companies servicing his current Plan business and to all insureds involved. 32. Are diplomats required to have a VA license? No, a State Department license is acceptable. 33. What happens when vehicles are registered in VA, but the headquarters of the company are located in another state? For multi state operations, the state Plan in which the operating headquarters of the risk is located shall provide the insurance. 34. What is EASi? EASi is a simple, cost effective way for producers certified by the Plan to complete and submit private passenger and commercial automobile application data electronically to the Plan via the Internet. The resulting electronic version of the completed application can be printed, signed, and mailed to the Plan together with the premium deposit payment and any other supporting documentation and/or forms required by the Plan. EASi is available to the Virginia Plan’s certified producers from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday at www.aipso.com/easi. If you are not already a Plan-certified producer, please contact the Plan by telephone (804-217-9990), fax (804-217-9950), or e-mail (vaip@aipso.com). 35. Do I use my agency or individual EASi Username and password when using EASi? It depends on what information you want to show in Section 1. - Producer of Record - of the EASi application . If your agency is certified and you would like the agency name to appear in Section 1. you will use the EASi username and password assigned to the agency and then complete your individual license information in Section 2. of the EASi application. If your agency is not certified and you want your individual name to appear in Section 1. you will use your individual EASi username and password. 36. Can I view company assignment information online if I use EASi? Yes, any producer who uses EASi to submit private passenger applications can view prior submissions for up to 400 days from the day an application is submitted online. When viewing a prior submission, if the application has been received and processed by the Plan, producers will be able to view the assigned company’s name. You can visit our company directory online for a complete listing of company address and telephone numbers. To view assigned company information, the producer would logon to EASi and choose “Prior Applications”. A list of that producer’s EASi submissions for the last 30 days will appear and the producer can select a 400 days prior option as well. A link to the application will also be available and the producer has an option of reprinting the application.