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Senate committee passes bill requiring insurers to confirm coverage after a death within three business days
Summary
The Senate Insurance & Commerce committee passed House Bill 1391, which would require life insurers to confirm whether a decedent had a policy and the death benefit amount within three business days of notification; the Arkansas Insurance Department said the bill was revised from a 24‑hour requirement and includes rule‑making authority.
The Senate Insurance & Commerce committee passed House Bill 1391 on a voice vote after brief testimony that the measure would force life insurers to give families earlier clarity about funeral benefits.
Senator Wallace, presenting the bill on behalf of Representative Capp, said the law is intended to prevent long waits for payouts that can delay funerals. "They've got 72 working hours to confirm that whether the deceased is a covered person under the policy or the annuity, to confirm the death amount under policy," Wallace said, describing situations in which policies’ cash values have been drawn down over years and families lack funds to pay funeral homes.
Ryan James, government relations for the Arkansas Insurance Department, told the committee the bill was originally written to require a 24‑hour turnaround but sponsors revised that to three business days. "We do have rule making authority in this, so we could possibly address some of that in the rule making," James said, and added that the initial call envisioned by the bill would be "just an interrogatory in terms of does this person have a benefit? ... It's just an inquiry as to to, whether or not 1 exists."
Committee members pressed for clarity on whether the three‑day deadline includes exceptions when records are missing or further investigation is needed. After the department’s explanation and additional sponsor remarks about modern insurer technology, Senator Teague indicated he was satisfied with the three‑business‑day language.
The chair called for a voice vote and said the bill passed. The record shows a voice vote; the transcript does not include a roll‑call tally. The committee then took up routine housekeeping items and adjourned.
The measure now proceeds according to the committee’s usual legislative process; the transcript does not specify additional scheduling or whether implementation would require later rulemaking steps or changes to insurer systems.
