New Option for Filing & Paying Surplus Lines 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 4, 2018 BULLETIN NO. 11-2018 TO: ALL LICENSED INSURERS, AUTHORIZED, FORMERLY AUTHORIZED AND UNAUTHORIZED INSURERS, SURPLUS LINES INSURERS, HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS, PRODUCER AND INSURANCE COMPANY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES FROM: ARKANSAS INSURANCE DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: NEW OPTION FOR FILING AND PAYING SURPLUS LINES INSURANCE PREMIUM TAXES This Bulletin is applicable to any insurer, surplus lines insurer, health maintenance organization, or other entity which is required by any section of the Arkansas Code to report and pay premium taxes. In 2015, the Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) implemented OPTins (Online Premium Tax for Insurance) for insurance companies filing and paying Premium Tax. This option is now being extended to Surplus Lines Insurers. OPTins, a product of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), has been developed to facilitate state specific forms and payments. In 2015, Arkansas mandated the use of OPTins for companies to file and pay their Estimated Quarterly Premium Tax. This mandate was not applicable to Surplus Lines Insurers. OPTins will be available starting January 1, 2019 as an option for Surplus Lines Insurers to file and pay their monthly and annual taxes. At this time, this is strictly an option for Surplus Lines Insurers and AID will continue to accept filings and payments by mailing in the form and check. 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 are already registered to use OPTins for filings in other states, you are set up to file in Arkansas and do not need 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. There is a nominal fee of 5% of tax due up to a maximum of ten dollars ($10.00) to file through OPTins. 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. December 4, 2018 ALLEN KERR DATE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER STATE OF ARKANSAS