Rates must be made in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) Manual, minimum, and class rates, rating schedules, or rating plans must be made and adopted, except in the case of specific inland marine rates on risks specially rated.

(2) Rates may not be excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory. Due consideration must be given for installation and maintenance of nationally recognized hazard reducing systems.

(3) Due consideration must be given to past and prospective loss experience within and outside this State, to the conflagration and catastrophe hazards, to a reasonable margin for underwriting profit and contingencies, to dividends, savings, or unabsorbed premium deposits allowed or returned by insurers to their policyholders, members, or subscribers, to past and prospective expenses, both countrywide and those specially applicable to this State, and to all other relevant factors within and outside this State, and in the case of fire insurance rates consideration must be given to the experience of the fire insurance business during a period of not less than the most recent five-year period for which the experience is available.

Except to the extent necessary to meet the provisions of item (2) of this section, uniformity among insurers in any matters within the scope of this section is neither required nor prohibited. Rates made in accordance with this section may be used subject to the provisions of this chapter.

HISTORY: Former 1976 Code Section 38-43-330 [1947 (45) 322; 1952 Code Section 37-673; 1962 Code Section 37-673; 1975 (59) 192] recodified as Section 38-73-330 by 1987 Act No. 155, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 783.