515F.5 Rate filings.

1. a. An insurer shall file with the commissioner, except as to inland marine risks which are not written according to manual rates or rating plans, every manual, minimum premium, class rate, rating schedule, rating plan, and every other rating rule, and every modification of any of the foregoing which it proposes to use. A filing shall state its proposed effective date, and shall indicate the character and extent of the coverage contemplated.

b. An insurer shall file or incorporate by reference to material which has been approved by the commissioner, at the same time as the filing of the rate, all supplementary rating and supporting information to be used in support of or in conjunction with a rate. The information furnished in support of a filing may include or consist of a reference to any of the following:

(1) The experience or judgment of the insurer or rating information filed by the advisory organization on behalf of the insurer as permitted by section 515F.11.

(2) An interpretation of any statistical data the insurer relies upon.

(3) The experience of other insurers or rating advisory organizations.

(4) Any other relevant factors. A filing and any supporting information shall be open to public inspection after the filing becomes effective.

c. When a filing is not accompanied by the information upon which the insurer supports the filing, the commissioner may require the insurer to furnish the supporting information and the waiting period commences on the date the information is furnished. Until the required information is furnished, the filing shall not be deemed complete or filed or available for use by the insurer. If the requested information is not furnished within a reasonable time period, the filing may be returned to the insurer as not filed and not available for use.

d. After reviewing an insurer’s filing, the commissioner may require that the insurer’s rates be based upon the insurer’s own loss and expense information. If an insurer’s loss or allocated loss adjustment expense information is not actuarially credible, as determined by the commissioner, the insurer may supplement its experience with information filed with the commissioner by an advisory organization.

e. Insurers using the services of an advisory organization shall, at the request of the commissioner, provide with a rate filing, a description of the rationale for that use, including its own information and method of using the advisory organization’s information.

2. The commissioner shall review filings as soon as reasonably possible after they have been made in order to determine whether they meet the requirements of this chapter.

3. Subject to the exception in subsection 4, a filing shall be on file for a waiting period of thirty days before it becomes effective, which period may be extended by the commissioner for an additional period not to exceed fifteen days if written notice is given within the waiting period to the insurer or advisory organization which made the filing that additional time is needed for the consideration of the filing. Upon written application by the insurer, the commissioner may authorize a filing which has been reviewed to become effective before the expiration of the waiting period or an extension of the waiting period. A filing is deemed to meet the requirements of this chapter unless disapproved by the commissioner within the waiting period or an extension of the waiting period.

4. Under rules adopted under chapter 17A, the commissioner may, by written order, suspend or modify the requirement of filing as to any kind of insurance, or subdivision or combination of insurance, or as to classes of risks, which are unnecessary to achieve the purposes of this chapter and the rates for which cannot practicably be filed before they are used. The commissioner may make an examination as the commissioner deems advisable to ascertain whether rates affected by the order meet the standards set forth in section 515F.4.

5. Upon the written application of the insured stating the insured’s reasons, filed with and approved by the commissioner, a rate in excess of that provided by a filing otherwise applicable may be used on a specific risk.

6. An insurer shall not make or issue a contract or policy except in accordance with the filings which have been approved and are in effect for the insurer as provided in this chapter. This subsection does not apply to contracts or policies for inland marine risks as to which filings are not required.

90 Acts, ch 1234, §49; 92 Acts, ch 1162, §45; 95 Acts, ch 185, §25; 2012 Acts, ch 1023, §157

Referred to in §515F.6, 515F.12, 515F.23, 515F.24, 515F.25