Insurance commissioner’s omnibus bill wins committee approval after technical amendment

Senate Bill 310, the insurance omnibus, was presented to the Senate Insurance & Commerce Committee by Insurance Commissioner Alan Kerr with staff attorney Amanda Rose assisting. Kerr described the omnibus as the department’s regular session vehicle to make technical and regulatory updates needed to keep Arkansas’ insurance code aligned with industry practice and model language.

Key provisions summarized by staff include: new funding method definitions for prepaid funeral contracts and clarification of interest income reporting on those contracts; repeal of certain reporting requirements deemed no longer necessary; a market‑conduct annual statement filing requirement that relies on an available form for a given line of business rather than repeatedly amending statute; updates to captive insurer regulation to continue attracting that business; a new corporate annual disclosure for insurance holding companies; streamlined agent appointment procedures; a move of premium tax filings from monthly to quarterly; and removal of a perfunctory hearing requirement for blocks‑of‑business assumption reinsurance transactions.

The committee first adopted an amendment to the bill and then approved SB310 by voice vote. Commissioner Kerr and Amanda Rose answered technical questions from committee members about the scope of specific sections and the department’s stakeholder outreach. Senators noted the importance of NAIC model alignment because accreditation affects the insurance department’s standing.

SB310 will proceed with the adopted amendment.