Late last month, Arkansas enacted Senate Bill 45 (now Act 332, the “Act”), which amends state law to permit surplus lines insurers domiciled in Arkansas to write surplus lines insurance in the state. This makes Arkansas the third state in the U.S. after Illinois and New Jersey to allow its domestic surplus lines companies to write insurance in the home state’s surplus lines market. Under the Act, a domestic surplus lines insurer is exempt from the Arkansas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Act (§ 23-90-101 et seq.) and the Arkansas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Act (§23-96-101 et seq.), but still subject to surplus lines tax and the Arkansas’ financial and solvency requirements (unless specifically exempted).
Click here for a complete copy of the Act.
