Rates and Rating Organizations

Wyo. Stat. Ann. tit. 26, ch. 14
in effect

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-101 Purpose of chapter; liberal interpretation.

The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public and policyholders against the effects of excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory rates by promoting price competition among insurers. The provisions in this chapter are intended to prohibit unlawful price fixing agreements by or among insurers and to authorize essential cooperative activities among insurers in the rate making process and to regulate these activities to prohibit practices that tend to substantially lessen competition or create monopolies. This chapter shall be liberally interpreted to carry into effect the provisions of this section.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-102 Scope and applicability of chapter; liberal interpretation.

(a) This chapter applies to all kinds of insurance written on risks in this state by any insurer authorized to do business, except nothing in this chapter applies to: (i) Life insurance; (ii) Disability insurance; (iii) Reinsurance; (iv) Insurance against loss of or damage to aircraft, their hulls, accessories and equipment, or against liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of aircraft; (v) Insurance of vessels or craft, their cargoes, marine builders' risks, marine protection and indemnity, or other risks commonly insured under marine, as distinguished from inland marine, insurance policies; (vi) Title insurance; (vii) Annuities; (viii) Worker's compensation insurance as provided under title 27, chapter 14 of the Wyoming statutes. (b) No insurer shall be required to file any rates with the commissioner other than those for insurance not subject to this act or defined as noncompetitive in this act, after the passage of this act. (c) This chapter shall be liberally interpreted to carry out the purpose specified in W.S. 26-14-101.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-103 Definitions.

(a) As used in this chapter: (i) "Advisory organization" means any person or organization which assists insurers as authorized by W.S. 26-14-110. It does not include joint underwriting organizations, actuarial or legal consultants, a single insurer, any employees of an insurer or insurers under common control or management of their employees or managers; (ii) "Competitive market" means any market except those which are noncompetitive pursuant to this chapter; (iii) "Excessive" means a rate that is likely to produce a long-term profit that is unreasonably high for the insurance provided. In a competitive market rates shall not be considered excessive; (iv) "Inadequate" means a rate which is unreasonably low for the insurance provided and the continued use of which endangers the solvency of the insurer using it or will have the effect of substantially lessening competition or creating a monopoly in any market; (v) "Joint underwriting" means an arrangement established to provide insurance coverage for a risk, pursuant to which two (2) or more insurers contract with the insured for a price and policy terms agreed upon between or among the insurers; (vi) "Market" means the statewide interaction between buyers and sellers in the procurement of a line of insurance coverage pursuant to the provisions of this chapter; (vii) "Noncompetitive market" means: (A) Residual markets; (B) Pools; (C) Credit property insurance, including vendors' single interest physical damage insurance where the buyer pays a separate charge for insurance; or (D) Any market in which: (I) There are less than five (5) insurers actually issuing a particular line of insurance as determined by the commissioner; (II) Three (3) insurers transact more than ninety percent (90%) of the business; (III) Two (2) insurers transact more than eighty percent (80%) of the business; or (IV) There is reasonable evidence, as determined by the commissioner, of collusion among insurers in setting prices. (viii) "Pool" means an arrangement pursuant to which two (2) or more insurers participate in the sharing of risks on a predetermined basis. A pool may operate as an association, syndicate or in any other generally recognized manner; (ix) "Residual market mechanism" means an arrangement, either voluntary or mandated by law, involving participation by insurers in the equitable apportionment of risks among insurers for insurance which may be afforded applicants who are unable to obtain insurance through ordinary methods; (x) "Supplementary rate information" means any manual or plan of rates, classification, rating schedule, minimum premium, policy fee, rating rule and any other similar information needed to determine an applicable rate in effect or to be in effect; (xi) "Supporting information" means the experience and judgment of the filer and the experience or data of other insurers or organizations relied upon by the filer, the interpretation of any statistical data relied upon by the filer, a description of methods used in making the rates and other similar information relied upon by the filer; (xii) "Unfairly discriminatory" refers to rates that cannot be actuarially justified. It does not refer to rates that produce differences in premiums for policyholders with like loss exposures but different expenses, or like expenses but different loss exposures, so long as the rate reflects such differences with reasonable accuracy. A rate is not unfairly discriminatory if it averages broadly among persons insured under a group, franchise or blanket policy or a mass marketing plan. No rate in a competitive market shall be considered unfairly discriminatory unless it violates the provisions of W.S. 26-14-105(b) in that they classify in whole or in part on the basis of race, color, creed or national origin.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-104 Competitive market presumed to exist.

A competitive market is presumed to exist except as otherwise provided by this chapter.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-105 Rating standards; methods.

(a) Rates shall not be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. (b) Risks may be classified in any way except that no risk may be classified in whole or in part on the basis of race, color, creed or national origin. In determining whether rates in a noncompetitive market are excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory, consideration may be given to the following elements: (i) Basic Rate Factors.-Consideration may be given to past and prospective loss and expense experience within and outside of this state, to catastrophe hazards and contingencies, to events or trends within and outside of this state, to dividends or savings to policyholders, members or subscribers and to all other factors and judgments deemed relevant by the insurer; (ii) Classification.-Rates may be modified for individual risks in accordance with rating plans or schedules which establish standards for measuring probable variations in hazards or expenses, or both; (iii) Expenses.-The expense provisions shall reflect the operating methods of the insurer and, so far as credible, its own actual and anticipated expense experience; and (iv) Contingencies and Profits.-The rates may contain a provision for contingencies and a provision for a reasonable underwriting profit, and shall reflect investment income directly attributable to unearned premium and loss reserves. (c) Repealed by Laws 2021, ch. 138, § 1.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-106 Rate regulation.

(a) Rates in a noncompetitive market, when regulated, shall be regulated in accordance with W.S. 26-14-105 through 26-14-108 applicable to noncompetitive markets. (b) The commissioner may regulate rates in an unregulated market if he determines that: (i) The unregulated market is a noncompetitive market; and (ii) Regulation will likely reduce rates for consumers in a total amount greater than the cost of regulation without substantially curtailing the availability of insurance in that market. (c) The commissioner may declare a noncompetitive market competitive if he determines the noncompetitive market no longer meets the conditions of a noncompetitive market as defined in W.S. 26-14-103(a)(vii). (d) To carry out the purpose of subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the commissioner, upon his own motion, may conduct a rate or other investigation. The commissioner shall conduct a rate or other investigation upon request of: (i) Not less than ten percent (10%) of the insureds in any market; (ii) Any organization representing not less than ten percent (10%) of the insureds in any market; or (iii) Insurers selling at least thirty percent (30%) of the insurance in any market. (e) The commissioner shall not be compelled to conduct an investigation of any line of insurance pursuant to subsection (d) of this section more than once in any three (3) year period for any line of insurance but may do so. (f) As a part of any investigation under subsection (d) of this section the commissioner: (i) May require any insurer to submit actuarial and expense data relating to any line of insurance; (ii) May contract the services of an actuarial consultant and assess the cost thereof against the parties requesting the investigation or against the insurers affected if the investigation is conducted upon the commissioner's motion; (iii) Shall conduct a hearing upon not less than twenty (20) days written notice to affected parties, provided this requirement may be waived upon written agreement of the affected parties; (iv) Depending upon the availability of data and the existence of sufficient experience to allow for an actuarially sound determination, may base any regulation of rates for any line of insurance under this section on experience or loss data for that line of insurance in: (A) Wyoming alone; (B) Wyoming and selected other states with reasonably similar characteristics; or (C) The United States as a whole excluding states whose experience is atypical. (g) For rates regulated pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, there shall be a public hearing if within any twelve (12) month period an insurer requests approval of a base premium rate which when added to any other base premium rates pending or approved within that twelve (12) month period is twenty percent (20%) or more above the rate approved for the previous rating period. For health care professional malpractice insurance, a rate increase of more than twenty-five percent (25%) in any specialty shall cause a consolidated hearing on the rate increase. The informational hearing shall be held within sixty (60) days of the request for approval unless the commissioner delays the hearing for good cause. If the hearing is delayed the commissioner shall notify the insurer and any other person requesting notification of the reasons for the delay. (h) The following shall apply to any market found to be noncompetitive pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section and to any professional liability insurance for any health care provider licensed under title 33 of the Wyoming statutes: (i) The rate charged any individual insured shall not exceed the base rate approved by the commissioner for the insured's risk class by more than one hundred percent (100%), unless the commissioner has established for the applicable risk class a percentage limit of less than one hundred percent (100%); (ii) The rate charged an insured for extended reporting coverage following expiration, termination or nonrenewal of the insured's claims-made policy shall be subject to the following: (A) The rate shall be calculated according to a formula set forth in the insured's policy, which formula shall be subject to approval by the commissioner; (B) The formula shall be expressed as a percentage of the base rate for the insured's risk class or that insured's underwritten rate; (C) The percentage may be varied on a uniform basis for each risk class by the length of time during which the events covered by the extended reporting coverage may have arisen; and (D) If an individual elects to purchase the extended reporting coverage before the renewal date of his policy, the rates charged for the extended reporting coverage shall be computed based on the relevant rates for that insured before the renewal, not the rates that would be in effect upon renewal.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-107 Filing of rates; supplementary rate information; supporting information; public inspection; consent to rates.

(a) In competitive markets, every insurer shall maintain all rates and supplementary rate information to be used in this state, in accordance with the provisions of W.S. 26-14-113(b), and such information shall be made available to the commissioner upon his request. (b) In noncompetitive markets, every insurer shall file with the commissioner all rates, supplementary rate information and supporting information for noncompetitive markets at least thirty (30) days before the proposed effective date. The commissioner may give written notice, within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the filing, that he needs additional time, not to exceed thirty (30) days from the date of the notice, to consider the filing. Upon written application of the insurer, the commissioner may authorize rates to be effective before the expiration of the waiting period or an extension thereof. A filing shall be deemed to meet the requirements of this chapter and to become effective unless disapproved pursuant to W.S. 26-14-108 by the commissioner before the expiration of the waiting period or an extension thereof. Residual market mechanisms or advisory organizations may file residual market rates. The filing shall be deemed in compliance with the filing provisions of this section unless the commissioner informs the insurer within ten (10) days after receipt of the filing as to what supplementary rate information or supporting information is required to complete the filing. (c) All information provided to the insurance commissioner under this chapter shall be open to public inspection. Copies may be obtained from the commissioner upon request and upon payment of a reasonable fee. (d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, upon written application of the insured, stating the reason therefor filed with the commissioner, a rate in excess of that otherwise applicable may be used on any specific risk.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-108 Disapproval of rates; bases; procedures.

(a) The commissioner shall disapprove a rate for use in a noncompetitive market if he finds pursuant to subsection (b) of this section that the rate is excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. (b) Disapproval of rates by the commissioner shall be subject to the following procedures: (i) Prior to the expiration of the waiting period or an extension thereof of a filing made pursuant to W.S. 26-14-107(b), the commissioner may disapprove by written order rates filed pursuant to W.S. 26-14-107(b) without hearing. The order shall specify in what respects such filing fails to meet the requirements of this chapter. Any insurer whose rates are disapproved under this section shall be given a hearing upon written request made within thirty (30) days of disapproval; (ii) If at any time the commissioner finds that a rate applicable to insurance sold in a noncompetitive market does not comply with the standards set forth in W.S. 26-14-105, he may, after a hearing held upon not less than twenty (20) days written notice, issue an order in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, disapproving the rate. Such notice shall be sent to every insurer and rate service organization which adopted the rate and shall specify the matters to be considered at the hearing. The order shall not affect any contract or policy made or issued prior to the expiration of the period set forth in the order. (c) If the commissioner disapproves a rate pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, he shall issue an order within thirty (30) days of the close of the hearing specifying in what respects the rate fails to meet the requirements of this chapter. The order shall state an effective date no sooner than forty-five (45) business days after the date of the order when the use of the rate shall be discontinued. The order shall not affect any policy made before the effective date of the order.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-109 Advisory organizations; registration required; authorized activities; availability of services.

(a) No advisory organization shall provide any service relating to the rates of any insurer subject to this chapter, and no insurer shall utilize the services of such organization for such purposes unless the organization has registered under subsection (d) of this section. (b) A registered advisory organization may perform any of the following activities: (i) Develop statistical plans including territorial and class definitions; (ii) Collect statistical data from members, subscribers or any other source; (iii) Prepare and distribute pure premium data, adjusted for loss development and loss trending, in accordance with its statistical plans, and prepare and distribute rates including expenses and profits; (iv) Prepare and distribute manuals of rating rules and rating schedules; (v) Distribute information that is filed with the commissioner and open to public inspection; (vi) Conduct research and on-site inspections in order to prepare classifications of public fire defenses; (vii) Consult with public officials regarding public fire protection as it would affect members, subscribers and others; (viii) Conduct research and collect statistics in order to discover, identify and classify information relating to causes or prevention of losses; (ix) Prepare and file on behalf of an insurer policy forms and endorsements and consult with members, subscribers and others relative to their use and application; (x) Conduct research and on-site inspections for the purpose of providing risk information relating to individual structures; (xi) Collect, compile and distribute past and current prices of individual insurers if such information is made available to the general public; (xii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, advisory organizations may perform those activities allowed under W.S. 26-23-301 through 26-23-333. (c) Repealed by Laws 1987, ch. 195, § 2. (d) No advisory organization shall refuse to supply any authorized services for which it is registered in this state to any insurer authorized to do business in this state and offering to pay the fair and usual compensation for the services, nor shall an advisory organization require the purchase of any specific services as a condition to obtaining the services sought, provided the furnishing of the requested services does not place an unreasonable burden on the advisory organization. (e) An advisory organization shall submit at the time of registration: (i) A copy of its constitution, articles of association or incorporation, bylaws and any other rules or regulations governing the conduct of its business; (ii) A list of its members and subscribers; (iii) The name and address of one (1) or more residents of this state upon whom notices, process affecting it or on orders of the commissioner may be served; (iv) Any other relevant information and documents that the commissioner may require. (f) Every organization which has registered shall promptly notify the commissioner of every material change in the facts or in the documents on which its registration was based.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-110 Records and reports; exchange of information.

(a) Insurers shall file with the commissioner, and the commissioner shall review, reasonable rules and plans for recording and reporting of loss and expense experience. The commissioner may designate one (1) or more advisory organizations to assist in gathering such experience and making compilations thereof. No insurer shall be required to record or report its experience in a manner inconsistent with its own rating system. (b) The commissioner and every insurer and an advisory organization may exchange information and experience data with insurance regulatory officials, insurers, rate service organizations and advisory organizations in this and other states and may consult with them with respect to rate making and the application of rating systems.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-111 Insurers and advisory organizations; monopolies prohibited; agreements to adhere prohibited.

(a) No insurer or advisory organization shall attempt to monopolize or combine or conspire with any other person to monopolize an insurance market in this state. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no insurer shall agree with any other insurer, rate service organization or advisory organization to adhere to or use any rate, supplementary rate information, policy surveys, inspections or similar material. (c) The fact that two (2) or more insurers, whether or not members or subscribers of any advisory organization, use consistently or intermittently the same rates, supplementary rate information, policy or bond forms, surveys, inspections or similar materials is not sufficient in itself to support a finding that an illegal agreement exists and may be used only for the purpose of supplementing or explaining other direct evidence of the existence of any such agreement. (d) Two (2) or more insurers having a common ownership or operating in this state under common management or control may act in concert between or among themselves with respect to any matters pertaining to activities authorized in this chapter as if they constituted a single insurer.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-112 Joint underwriting; pool and residual market activities.

(a) Insurers participating in joint underwriting, pools or residual market mechanisms may act in cooperation with each other in the making of rates, supplementary rate information, policy or bond forms, surveys, inspections and investigations, the furnishing of loss and expense statistics or other information and conducting research. Joint underwriting, pools and residual market mechanisms shall not be deemed rate advisory organizations. (b) If, after notice and hearing, the commissioner finds that any activity or practice of an insurer participating in a joint underwriting or pooling mechanism is unfair or unreasonable, or otherwise inconsistent with the provisions or purposes of this chapter, he may issue a written order specifying in what respects such activity or practice is unfair, unreasonable, anti-competitive or otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter and require the discontinuance of such activity or practice. (c) Every pool shall file with the commissioner a copy of its constitution, articles of incorporation, agreement or association, bylaws, rules and regulations governing activities, the name and address of a resident of this state upon whom notices, process and orders of the commissioner may be served and any changes or modifications thereof. (d) Any residual market mechanism, plan or agreement to implement such a mechanism, and any changes or amendments thereto, shall be submitted in writing to the commissioner for approval, together with any information as he may reasonably require. The commissioner shall approve such agreements if they foster the use of rates which meet the standards prescribed by this chapter and activities and practices not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter. (e) The commissioner may review the operations of all residual market mechanisms to determine compliance with the provisions of this chapter. If, after a notice and hearing, the commissioner finds that the mechanisms are violating the provisions of this chapter, he may issue a written order to the parties involved specifying in what respects the operations violate the provisions of this chapter. He may further order the discontinuance or elimination of any operation.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-113 Examinations; records; costs; report in lieu of examination.

(a) The commissioner may examine any insurer, pool, advisory organization or residual market mechanism to ascertain compliance with this chapter. (b) Every insurer, pool, advisory organization and residual market mechanism shall maintain adequate records from which the commissioner may determine compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The records shall contain the experience, data, statistics and other information collected or used and shall be available to the commissioner for examination or inspection upon reasonable notice. (c) The reasonable cost of an examination made pursuant to this section shall be paid by the examined party upon presentation to it of a detailed account of the costs. (d) The commissioner may accept the report of an examination made by the insurance supervisory official of another state in lieu of an examination under this section.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-114 Exemptions.

The commissioner may exempt any line of insurance from any or all of the provisions of this chapter for the purpose of relieving the line of insurance from filing provisions of this chapter.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-115 Dividends.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit or regulate the payment of dividends, savings or unabsorbed premium deposits allowed or returned by insurers to their policyholders, members or subscribers. A plan for the payment of dividends, savings or unabsorbed premium deposits allowed or returned by insurers to their policyholders, members or subscribers shall not be deemed a rating plan or system.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-116 Penalties; technical violations; revocation and suspension of license; written orders; contents.

(a) The commissioner may impose after notice and hearing a penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation of this chapter. The penalty may be in addition to any other penalty provided by law. In no event shall penalties imposed by this subsection exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) in the aggregate. (b) Technical violations arising from systems or computer errors of the same type shall be treated as a single violation. In the event of an overcharge, if the insurer makes restitution including payment of interest, no penalty shall be imposed. (c) The commissioner may suspend or revoke the license of any insurer or advisory organization which fails to comply with an order of the commissioner within the time prescribed by the order, or any extension thereof which the commissioner may grant. (d) The commissioner may determine when a suspension of license shall become effective and the period of the suspension, which he may modify or rescind in any reasonable manner. (e) No penalty shall be imposed and no license shall be suspended or revoked except upon a written order of the commissioner made after notice and hearing, which shall include a finding that the party against whom the proceedings were brought violated this chapter, specify the section or sections of the statutes violated, and indicate the penalty and taxes, if any, imposed.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-117 Judicial review.

Any order, ruling, finding, decision or other act of the commissioner made pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to judicial review in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-14-118 Notice and hearing.

(a) All notices rendered pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be in writing and shall state clearly the nature and purpose of the hearing. All relevant facts, statutes and rules shall be specified so that a respondent is fully informed of the scope of the hearing, including specific allegations, if any. If a hearing is required, all notices shall designate a hearing date at least two (2) weeks from the date of the notice, unless such minimum notice period is waived by respondent. (b) All hearings pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be conducted in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act to the extent the provisions are consistent with the procedural requirements contained in this chapter.
Source: WY Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title26.pdfFetched: 10/4/2026