Ark. Code Ann. § 23-67-219 (2026)
Workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance
With regard to workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance incidental thereto and written in connection therewith, the following provisions shall apply:
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- Every insurer shall file with the Insurance Commissioner every manual of classifications, rules and rates, every rating plan, and every modification of any of the foregoing which it proposes to use for workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance.
- Every insurer shall file with the commissioner every manual, minimum, class rate, rating schedule or rating plan, every other rating rule, and every modification of any of the foregoing which it proposes to use for workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance.
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- Every filing must be submitted for approval to the commissioner at least thirty (30) days prior to the proposed effective date.
- Upon written request of the filer, the commissioner may authorize an earlier effective date.
- If the commissioner does not have sufficient information to determine whether the filing meets the requirements of this section, the commissioner shall require the filer to furnish the information upon which it supports the filing. In this event, the proposed effective date shall not be less than thirty (30) days after the date the information is furnished.
- As soon as submitted, each filing shall be open to public inspection, except information which is a trade secret or of a proprietary nature, or both. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq., information which is a trade secret or of a proprietary nature, or both, shall not be open to public inspection.
- The commissioner may require that the rate filing be submitted to an independent consulting actuary of his or her choice for review. The full expense of the consulting actuarial review shall be borne by the filing insurer or rate service organization.
- An insurer may satisfy its obligation to file by filing by reference to the rates and supplementary information, with or without deviation, filed by a licensed rate service organization with which the insurer is a member or subscriber. However, nothing contained in this section shall be construed as requiring any insurer to become a member of or subscriber to any rate service organization. Filings made by licensed rate service organizations shall be for advisory purposes only and shall not be made on behalf of any insurer. Reference filings made in this manner can only be changed by subsequent filings by the insurer.
- Upon the written application of the insured, stating his or her reasons therefor, filed with and approved by the commissioner, a rate in excess of that provided by a filing otherwise applicable may be used on any specific risk.
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- Any person or organization aggrieved with respect to any filing which is in effect may make written application to the commissioner for a hearing thereon, provided that the insurer or rate service organization that made the filing shall not be authorized to proceed under this subdivision (1)(F).
- The application shall specify the grounds to be relied upon by the applicant.
- If the commissioner finds that the application is made in good faith, that the applicant will suffer a legally cognizable injury if the grounds are established, and that the grounds otherwise justify holding a hearing, the commissioner shall, within thirty (30) days after receipt of the application, hold a hearing upon not less than ten (10) days' written notice to the applicant and to every insurer and rate service organization which made the filing.
- If, after the hearing, the commissioner finds that the filing does not meet the requirements of this section, the commissioner shall issue an order specifying in what respects the filing fails to meet the requirements and stating when, within a reasonable period thereafter, the filing shall be deemed no longer effective. Copies of the order shall be sent to all parties to the hearing. The order shall not affect any contract or policy made or issued prior to the expiration of the period set forth in the order.
- A manual, minimum, class rate, rating schedule, rating plan, rating rule, rating system, plan of operation, or any modification of any of the foregoing shall be disapproved if the rates thereby produced are excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory;
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- Every member of or subscriber to a rate service organization shall adhere to the filings by the organization to which it has filed by reference, except that the insurer may make written application to the commissioner to file a deviation from the class rates, schedules, rating plans, or rules thereof.
- This application shall specify the basis for the modification, and a copy shall also be sent simultaneously to the rate service organization.
- In considering the application to file a deviation, the commissioner shall give consideration to the available statistics and the principles for ratemaking as provided in § 23-67-207 and subdivision (1)(H) of this section.
- The commissioner shall approve the deviation for the insurer if he or she finds it to be justified, and it shall thereupon become effective.
- The commissioner shall disapprove the application if he or she finds that the deviation applied for does not meet the requirements of this chapter.
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- In order to preserve a uniform database, the commissioner may designate one (1) or more rate service organizations to assist him or her in gathering, compiling, and reporting information.
- Insurers shall record their workers' compensation and employers' liability experience on a classification basis consistent with that of a rate service organization designated by the commissioner and shall report the experience to the designated rate service organization;
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- Every rate service organization and every insurer which makes its own rates for workers' compensation and employers' insurance, within a reasonable time after receiving written request therefor and upon payment of such reasonable charge as it may make, shall furnish to any insured affected by a rate made by it, or to the authorized representative of the insured, all pertinent information as to the rate.
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- Every rate service organization and every insurer which makes its own rates shall provide within this state reasonable means whereby any person aggrieved by the application of its rating system may be heard, in person or by his or her authorized representative, on his or her written request to review the manner in which the rating system has been applied in connection with the insurance afforded him or her.
- If the rate service organization or insurer fails to grant or rejects the request within thirty (30) days after it is made, the applicant may proceed in the same manner as if his or her application had been rejected.
- Any party affected by the action of the rate service organization or the insurer on the request may, within thirty (30) days after written notice of the action, appeal to the commissioner.
- The commissioner shall be furnished a written transcript of the proceedings before the rate service organization or the insurer, including a written memorandum of decision. The commissioner shall, within thirty (30) days after submission of the transcript and memorandum of decision, render his or her decision on the appeal, which decision shall be based on the transcript and memorandum of decision submitted. The commissioner shall promptly notify the appellant and the rate service organization or insurer in writing of his or her decision on the appeal.
History. Acts 1979, No. 732, § 21; 1981, No. 906, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 66-3120; Acts 1987, No. 697, §§ 1-4; Acts 1991, No. 1123, § 5; 1997, No. 1000, § 6.
Case Notes
In General.
The employer is required by the state to carry insurance, and the state dictates the rates to be charged. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Crist, 664 F. Supp. 1242 (W.D. Ark. 1987), rev'd, 855 F.2d 1326 (8th Cir. Ark. 1988).
Purpose.
Workers' compensation insurance has the salutary purpose of protecting employees, employers, and the public by providing a means by which injured workers may be compensated during the period of their inability to work caused by the injury so that they may continue to exist and feed their families. The public is protected because, hopefully, this prevents injured workers from becoming wards of the state maintained at the expense of the public. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Crist, 664 F. Supp. 1242 (W.D. Ark. 1987), rev'd, 855 F.2d 1326 (8th Cir. Ark. 1988).
Rates.
The purpose of this section's mandate that any rate or method of premium development for workers' compensation be on file with and approved by the Insurance Commissioner's office before it is offered is to protect workmen and the public by ensuring that carriers do not unfairly discriminate between employers or charge excessive or inadequate rates. This is a legitimate concern of the regulatory authorities. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Crist, 664 F. Supp. 1242 (W.D. Ark. 1987), rev'd, 855 F.2d 1326 (8th Cir. Ark. 1988).
Insured was obligated to pay premiums provided for in terms of the policy which complied with the requirements of this section and could not avoid these premiums based upon a “side” agreement (whether such agreement is legal or illegal) that the premiums would not exceed a specified dollar amount despite the terms of the policy. Section 23-66-308 requires the insurer to charge the premiums shown on the policy and directs that the insured will not knowingly receive or accept any reduction in the premium unless there is a filing authorizing such a reduction, and an insured with an entire department dealing only with its insurance and an outside consulting firm for its insurance matters cannot later say that it did not “knowingly” accept the illegal reduction in premium. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Crist, 664 F. Supp. 1242 (W.D. Ark. 1987), rev'd, 855 F.2d 1326 (8th Cir. Ark. 1988).
Where, as written, policies did not embody the parties' actual agreement, the policies operated to deceive state regulatory authorities, because, in actuality, they embodied a rating schedule which the parties never planned to file with the state. Thus it would have been impossible for state regulators to test the policies to ascertain whether the rates charged were inadequate, excessive, or discriminatory, because the policies, on their face, did not reveal the true rates being charged. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Crist, 855 F.2d 1326 (8th Cir. Ark. 1988).