To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: On April 14, 2021, the Maine’s Bureau of Insurance issued Bulletin 457 to explain the general conditions and requirements for surplus lines placements, and to reaffirm to producers their obligations and responsibilities under Maine law. As we note below, Maine maintains some of the strictest surplus lines protocols in the country and attention must be acutely given to Maine’s standards when placing surplus lines business in the state. The Bulletin begins by noting that surplus lines carriers are not licensed by the state, are exempt from most consumer protections, do not participate in state guaranty funds, and that Maine takes the position that “placing coverage in surplus lines should always be the exception, not the rule.”