Life insurance in Arkansas

How your policy is protected if an insurer fails

The Arkansas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association was created in 1989, when the legislature passed the Arkansas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act (Ark. Code § 23-96-101 and following). Every insurer licensed to sell life insurance, accident and health insurance or individual annuities in Arkansas is a member. When a member is found insolvent and a court orders it liquidated, a special deputy receiver takes over the company. The association then becomes responsible for servicing and protecting Arkansas residents' covered policies, up to the limits in the act. Often a healthy insurer assumes the policies. You should keep paying premiums so your coverage continues.

Arkansas's life and annuity limits are more generous than most states'. Limits as of October 4, 2026, from the association's FAQ and NOLHGA's national chart (as of June 1, 2025), with the overall caps from the NAIC's summary of state guaranty laws:

The annuity limit applies to all of an owner's contracts with the failed company combined, so three $300,000 annuities would be protected for $300,000 in total. The rest becomes a creditor claim in the receivership. The association's FAQ lists what it does not protect: insurers not licensed in Arkansas, HMO contracts, the non-guaranteed part of variable life and annuity contracts, self-insured employer plans, fraternal benefit society certificates, burial associations, prepaid funeral trusts, and charitable gift annuities issued by non-insurance companies. If you are buying a funeral plan, ask whether it is actually a life insurance policy from a licensed insurer.

The association says plainly that it is a private entity, not a state agency, and its protection has limits and can take months to start. It is a backstop, not a reason to buy from a weak company. Arkansas law prohibits agents and insurers from using the association in advertising or as an inducement to buy, so an agent who brings it up as a selling point is breaking the rules. See state life and health guaranty associations and what happens if your life insurance company fails.

Who regulates life insurance in Arkansas

The Arkansas Insurance Department (AID), part of the state Department of Commerce, licenses insurers, agents and adjusters, reviews policy forms, monitors solvency and protects consumers. Its Consumer Services Division handles complaints and questions about insurers, producers and adjusters. The division investigates every complaint it receives, working with the company and the consumer to settle on the right outcome. It also travels the state for consumer education and disaster response.

Free look, grace periods and policy rules

• Free look: Arkansas insurance rules require a 10-day free-look period for individual life insurance and annuity policies, and for variable life, according to the NAIC's state-by-state chart of life insurance disclosure laws (Fall 2023). Your policy's first page states the exact period and how to return it. If you are replacing an existing policy, ask the insurer whether a longer period applies before you cancel the old one. See the free-look period: returning a policy for a refund.
• Grace period: read your policy's grace period clause to see how long you have to pay a late premium, and call the insurer before that date if you are behind.

Taxes, estates and community property

Arkansas has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax can apply, with a basic exclusion of $15,000,000 per person in 2026, according to the IRS. Arkansas is not a community property state; the beneficiary designation on the policy generally controls who is paid.

Finding a lost policy or unclaimed benefits

AID points consumers to the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator, a free service. You submit the deceased person's information, and participating insurers search their records and contact the beneficiary if a policy turns up. Next, search the Arkansas Auditor of State's unclaimed property site at claimitar.gov. Insurers that cannot find a beneficiary eventually turn the money over to the state, and you can claim it for free. Watch for finders who charge a percentage for the same search. Our guides to how to find a lost life insurance policy and unclaimed life insurance money and state unclaimed property walk through the rest.

Where to get help

• Arkansas Insurance Department, Consumer Services Division: 501-371-2640, or 800-852-5494 toll-free (the consumer line listed in the NAIC's directory of state insurance departments); fax 501-371-2749; 1 Commerce Way, Suite 102, Little Rock, AR 72202-2087; insurance.arkansas.gov.
• File a complaint: use AID's online complaint form, or print the consumer complaint form and send it by email, fax or mail. Include your name and contact details, the insurer, the insured's name, policy and claim numbers, the agent's name, the date of the problem and a short description. Complaints are subject to disclosure as public records. See how to file a complaint against a life insurer.
• Guaranty association: Arkansas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association, 1023 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 2, Little Rock, AR 72201; 501-371-2776.

Neighboring states: Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.