Filing and Paying Insurance Premium Taxes

Arkansas Insurance Department Asa Hutchinson Allen Kerr Governor Commissioner 1200 West Third Street, Little Rock, AR 72201-1904 · (501) 371-2600 · (501) 371-2618 fax · www.insurance.arkansas.gov Information (800) 282-9134 · Consumer Services (800) 852-5494 · Seniors (800) 224-6330 · Criminal Inv. (866) 660-0888 December 22, 2015 BULLETIN NO. 19-2015 TO: ALL LICENSED INSURERS, AUTHORIZED, FORMERLY AUTHORIZED AND UNAUTHORIZED INSURERS, HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS, PRODUCER AND INSURANCE COMPANY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES FROM: ARKANSAS INSURANCE DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: FILING AND PAYING INSURANCE PREMIUM TAXES This Bulletin is applicable to any insurer, health maintenance organization, or other entity which is required by any section of the Arkansas Code to report and pay premium taxes. The Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) has implemented OPTins (Online Premium Tax for Insurance) for insurance companies filing and paying Premium Tax. OPTins, a product of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), has been developed to facilitate state specific forms and payments. Arkansas has mandated the use of OPTins for companies to file and pay their 2016 Estimated Quarterly Premium Tax. (Not applicable to Surplus Lines Insurers at this time). OPTins will be available starting January 15, 2016 for payment of Estimated Quarterly Premium Tax filings. The 2015 Annual filing will remain under the current AID process, allowing the option of mailing in the form and check, or paying via the current EFT process. Submitting tax filings through OPTins is simple and requires no formal training. There are no licensing fees or special software needed. Easy to follow instructions are available at: http://www.optins.org. To implement, contact the OPTins Marketing Team at optinsmktg@naic.org or call (816) 783-8787. Setup of a new account takes 7-10 business days. If you already use OPTins, you do not have to contact OPTins Marketing. Once registered and set up, simply log in, upload filing forms and submit payment online. There will be no paper checks – everything is electronic and tax forms along with payment are received at the AID immediately upon submission by the company or producer. For any questions regarding this Bulletin, please contact Courtney Traylor in the Accounting Division of the Arkansas Insurance Department at 501-371-2605 or by e-mail at Insurance.Accounting@arkansas.gov. oe,01 ALLEN KE DATE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER STATE OF ARKANSAS