Arizona Revised Statutes

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 20-398 (2026)

Policy forms; approval or disapproval; exemption

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section AZ-LEGazleg.gov (official) JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A. Except for fidelity, surety or guaranty bonds or industrial insurance as provided in section 20-400.10, except for any portion of a property insurance policy that contains wildfire protection services, and except as to inland marine risks that by general custom of the business are not written according to manual rates or rating plans, a policy form applying to insurance on risks or operations covered by this article may not be delivered or issued for delivery unless the form has been filed with the director and either the director has issued, within thirty days, an order affirmatively approving or disapproving the form or the thirty-day period has elapsed and the director has not disapproved the form as ambiguous, misleading or deceptive. On written notice given within the thirty-day period to the person making the filing, the director may extend the period for up to fifteen additional days to enable the director to complete the review of the filing.

B. The director, by order, may exempt from the requirements of this section, for as long as the director deems proper, any insurance document or form as specified in the order, to which, in the director's opinion, this section may not practicably be applied, or the filing and approval of which are, in the director's opinion, not desirable or necessary for the protection of the public.

C. Any property insurance policy containing wildfire protection services, including wildfire mitigation and wildfire suppression services conducted by a private entity, that is issued for delivery to an insured in this state shall contain a conspicuously stamped or written notice in bold-faced type that states that the wildfire protection services are not subject to review by the department.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1990–2021 · leading case: Melendez v. Hallmark Ins., 305 P.3d 392 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2013).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Melendez v. Hallmark Ins., 305 P.3d 392 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 7× “As pertinent here, the legislature specifically invoked the Director’s authority to promulgate UM/UIM rejection/selection forms by providing that the “rejection of coverage by a named insured or applicant on a form approved by the director is valid for all insureds under the…”

Wells Fargo Credit Corp. v. Arizona Prop. & Cas. Ins. Guar. Fund, 799 P.2d 908 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 2× “See A.R.S. §§ 20-398(A) and 20-388. The process by which Integrity was “authorized” to issue its residual value insurance policy to Wells Fargo is illustrative of this statutory scheme.”

Sandwich Chef of Texas, Inc. v. Reliance Nat'l Indem. Ins., 202 F.R.D. 484 (S.D. Tex. 2001). “120 (Michie 1998); Ariz Rev.Stat.Ann § 20-398 (West Supp.1999); ArkCodeAnn.”

Clinton v. Sec. Benefit Life Ins. Co. (D. Kan. 2021). “5/143(1) (requiring policies to be filed electronically and approved); Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 20-398 (A) (prohibiting use of a policy form unless the form has been filed and approved); Nev.”

— Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 20-398(A) — 2 cases

Melendez v. Hallmark Ins., 305 P.3d 392 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2013). “As pertinent here, the legislature specifically invoked the Director’s authority to promulgate UM/UIM rejection/selection forms by providing that the “rejection of coverage by a named insured or applicant on a form approved by the director is valid for all insureds under the…”

Wells Fargo Credit Corp. v. Arizona Prop. & Cas. Ins. Guar. Fund, 799 P.2d 908 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1990). “See A.R.S. §§ 20-398(A) and 20-388. The process by which Integrity was “authorized” to issue its residual value insurance policy to Wells Fargo is illustrative of this statutory scheme.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.