Insurance Insights

October 12-18, 2015

Important information on health and flood insurance

By Allen Kerr

On Oct. 8, AID issued a bulletin regarding President Obama’s signing into law of the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees (PACE) Act, legislation that revises the definition of a small employer scheduled to become effective pursuant to the Affordable Care Act on Jan. 1, 2016.

The PACE Act was bipartisan legislation, and AID’s new bulletin reaffirms our use of the state’s definition of a ‘small employer’ as 2 to 50 employees for purposes of all small group health issues under Ark. Code Ann. §23-86-303(34).

Under the Affordable Care Act, the definition of a “small employer” would have automatically expanded to include businesses with up to 100 employees on January 1, 2016. The PACE Act eliminates the automatic expansion, giving states the option to increase their definition of “small employers” up to 100, but only if they choose to do so.

You can read the new bulletin here: http://www.insurance.arkansas.gov/Legal/PCBulletinYR.htm.

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Earlier this week, I issued a reminder to Arkansans of the need for having flood insurance following last weekend’s flooding in South Carolina and other east coast states.

The epic rainfall in South Carolina should again serve as another reminder for Arkansans to protect themselves by having flood insurance. As we remember our state’s own bout with flooding in June, we must also remember the fact that new flood policies have a 30-day waiting period before taking effect. I strongly urge Arkansans not to wait for the water to come knocking at your door—get insured today.

Floods are not covered on a typical homeowners or renter’s policy. Flood insurance can be obtained via the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Arkansans should visit http://FloodSmart.gov to determine whether their community participates in the NFIP, and to find an agent.

It is my pleasure to continue to serve you as your Insurance Commissioner. For more information on the Arkansas Insurance Department, please visit http://insurance.arkansas.gov, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ARInsuranceDept and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ArkansasInsuranceDepartment.  

Allen Kerr was appointed Arkansas Insurance Commissioner on Jan. 13, 2015, by Governor Asa Hutchinson.