ISO BUSINESSOWNERS PROGRAM ACORD FORMS CONSIDERATIONS

(September 2019)

OVERVIEW

ACORD forms are designed to be used with products associated with standard insurance industry rating and forms organizations, such as the Insurance Services Office (ISO) with its manuals, rules, rating plans, and coverage forms, such as the Businessowners Program. For the most part, ACORD forms are relatively generic in nature. If the Businessowners Coverage Form is written in combination with a specific independent specialty or company program, company specific forms may be needed for that account instead of, or in addition to, the normal ACORD forms that apply.

RELEVANT ACORD FORMS

Note: Only countrywide forms are listed in this section. State specific ACORD forms are not listed.

• Form 105–Apartment Building Supplement
• Form 125–Commercial Insurance Application
• Form 160–Business Owners Application
• Form 185–Restaurant/Tavern Supplement
• Form 186–Contractors Supplement
• Form 187–Professional Liability Supplement

SPECIFIC ACORD FORM CONSIDERATIONS

Form 105–Apartment Building Supplement

Apartments that are eligible to be covered under the ISO Businessowners Coverage Form must complete this supplement in order to evaluate and analyze a number of exposures unique to such establishments.

Form 125–Commercial Insurance Application–Applicant Information Section

All information is relevant and important. The appropriate boxes should be checked so the insurance company underwriter is aware of the lines of insurance being submitted for consideration. Both the first named insured and all insureds must be listed in order for coverage to apply. Loss information on larger accounts should probably be submitted in the form of copies of currently valued loss runs for the past five years, as well as for the current year to date.

Form 160–Business Owners Application

This application gathers information for all coverages that the ISO Businessowners Coverage Form provides. It is usually the only application needed; despite the numerous coverages the coverage form includes. Using this single application may reduce the amount of time spent preparing applications but it may not provide all the information needed to fully evaluate every exposure for a given customer. If the risk presents significant values for a particular coverage, complete the standard application for that coverage as a risk management tool. This application gathers information for the following coverages:

Property	General Liability	Accounts Receivable
Equipment Breakdown	Glass	Crime
Signs	Valuable Papers and Records	Burglary and Robbery (Stock and Money)
Extra Expense	Loss of Income	Liquor Liability
Employee Dishonesty	Spoilage	Computers
Ordinance or Law	Flood	Earthquake
Transit	Garagekeepers	Hired & Non-Owned Auto

Note: Because this is a generic application, pay special attention to company-specific additional coverages. It has space for these coverages. Certain occupancies require special applications to supplement the information this application provides.

Form 185–Restaurant/Tavern Supplement

Restaurants and other establishments that serve food and drink that are eligible for coverage under the ISO Businessowners Coverage Form must complete this supplement in order to evaluate and analyze a number of exposures unique to such establishments.

Form 186–Contractors Supplement

This application supplements ACORD Form 160–Businessowners Application. It is used when preparing applications for contractor classes of business eligible for the ISO Businessowners Coverage Form to evaluate and analyze their contracting exposures.

Form 187–Professional Liability Supplement

This application supplements ACORD Form160–Businessowners Application. It is used when preparing applications for professional liability coverage for:

• Barbers and Beauticians
• Funeral Directors
• Optical and Hearing Aid Establishments
• Printers
• Veterinarians

UNDERWRITING NOTES

With respect to the ISO Businessowners Coverage Form, while a specific risk may appear to meet the ISO eligibility requirements, it may not meet the eligibility or underwriting guidelines of a specific insurance company. In these cases, complete the standard ACORD applications instead of the Businessowners application.

ACORD Forms are very comprehensive and detailed with respect to the type and amount of information requested. However, no single application can respond to every question that may arise for every risk, especially when evaluating larger and more complex risks. It is always in the best interests of both the insured and the agent or broker to provide a cover letter that includes complete details of the operations and exposures involved.