This guide is intended to provide a summary of OIL and to highlight some of the issues of membership that merit consideration in the evaluation of OIL. The paper does not advocate the use of OIL as opposed to conventional markets or vice versa, but it will hopefully foster a greater understanding of OIL.

The updated and revised guide has been made necessary by the fact that during 2009 OIL radically overhauled its Rating & Premium Plan (R&PP) and introduced significant changes to its windstorm coverage.