§ 23-67-201 - Purpose. - Arkansas Statutes

23-67-201. Purpose.

(a) This chapter shall be liberally construed to achieve the purposes stated in subsection (b) of this section, which shall constitute an aid and guide to interpretation but not an independent source of power.

(b) The purposes of this chapter are to:

(1) Promote the public welfare by regulating insurance rates to the end that they shall not be excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory;

(2) Prohibit price-fixing agreements and other anticompetitive behavior by insurers;

(3) Promote price competition among insurers so as to provide rates that are responsive to competitive market conditions;

(4) Provide regulatory controls in the absence of competition;

(5) Improve availability, fairness, and reliability of insurance;

(6) Authorize essential cooperative action among insurers in the ratemaking process and to regulate that activity to prevent practices that tend to lessen substantially competition or to create a monopoly;

(7) Encourage the most efficient and economic marketing practices; and

(8) Require the providing of price and other information to enable consumers to purchase insurance suitable for their needs and to foster competitive insurance markets.