Arkansas Senate approves insurer-notice extension, codifies surplus-line fee practice; several measures advanced

The Arkansas Senate on Jan. 27 approved two insurance-related measures and advanced several other items during its morning session.

Senate Bill 70, carried by Sen. Alan Hickey, passed on a roll call of 35-0. The bill changes notice windows insurers must give when imposing premium increases greater than 25 percent: the insurer-to-agent notice period is extended from 30 days to 60 days, and the notice period to the insured is increased from 10 days to 30 days, as described by Hickey on the floor.

Senate Bill 76, carried by Sen. Blake Johnson, also passed by a recorded vote of 35-0. Johnson told colleagues the bill does not change Arkansas public policy but instead codifies the Arkansas Insurance Department’s longstanding interpretation — first set out in a February 2015 bulletin — that surplus-line brokers are exempt from a 20 percent fee cap. Johnson said surplus-line policies serve consumers who cannot obtain coverage through standard lines and that putting the exemption into statute should…