Insurance Services Office v. State Board for Property & Casualty Rates

1975 OK 3, 530 P.2d 1359, 1975 Okla. LEXIS 309
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJanuary 14, 1975
DocketNo. 47474
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 1975 OK 3 (Insurance Services Office v. State Board for Property & Casualty Rates) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Insurance Services Office v. State Board for Property & Casualty Rates, 1975 OK 3, 530 P.2d 1359, 1975 Okla. LEXIS 309 (Okla. 1975).

Opinion

LAVENDER, Justice:

The appellant, Insurance Services Office (ISO), is a properly licensed rating organization and authorized to file insurance rates for insurers writing automobile insurance in Oklahoma. It represents some 225 companies. The appellee is the State Board for Property and Casualty Rates of Oklahoma (Board). This is an appeal of its order dated April 9, 1974, issued against the appellant.

On January 3, 1974, the Board addressed a communication to “All Insurance companies writing automobile insurance in Oklahoma.” It read:

“You are hereby requested to reduce all automobile insurance premiums and rates ten percent (10%) effective February 1, 1974.
This request is due to reduction in speed limits and shortage of fuel.
Please advise by mail or telegram that you will comply with this request or show cause.”

Subsequent thereto, the Board gave notice to the same insurers (writers of automobile insurance) of an investigative hearing the Board would hold on January 29, 1974. The notice advised the purpose of the meeting was “to determine, for those companies electing to show cause, as to why automobile rates should not be reduced, a procedure for filing of experience exhibits and other relevant data and for the setting of individual hearing on the matter.” ISO was represented at the hearing. The Board’s minutes dated January 29, 1974, calls the hearing a special meeting regarding 10% automobile rate reduction request — energy crises. A resolution was adopted by the Board that individual hearings be set for those insurers that had not filed for the 10% automobile rate reduction.

Under date of February 15, 1974, ISO was given notice of hearing for March 19, 1974, “for the purpose of determining whether or not the Board should issue an order withdrawing its approval, disapproving and/or changing the automobile insurance rates filed by the Insurance Service Office.” In the notice ISO was directed to file with the Board at the earliest possible date prior to the hearing an exhibit in the nature of an automobile rate filing including some twelve items.

At the March 19, 1974, hearing, testimony was taken and much documentary evidence introduced by both the Board and ISO.

From the March 19th hearing came the Board’s order of April 9, 1974. The order recites the purpose of the hearing was to make a determination if ISO’s rates were excessive in violation of 36 O.S.1971, § 902, subd. A and, if so, to comply with 36 O.S.1971, § 903, subd. C. It details some 23 findings of fact and 22 conclusions of law. In the order portion the Board orders ISO to reduce its automobile insurance rates approved February 11, 1970, then in effect, by ten percent (10%) with the effective date the same date as the order. This appeal is from that order.

We hold the Board does not have authority to order that reduction.

The controlling statutes are certain subsections of 36 O.S.1971, §§ 902 and 903, as amended.1 The regulation of rates used by [1361]*1361casualty insurance companies became the function of the State Insurance Board in 1949. That board’s authority as to rates in the field of casualty insurance including all forms of motor vehicle insurance resulted from the passage of a rating act, commonly referred to as the “Casualty Rating Act.”2 That act was codified in the official Oklahoma Statutes 1951 as 36 O.S. 1951, §§ 881-891.

The Casualty Rating Act amended Section 131, 36 O.S.1941 to give the State Insurance Board 3 authority over casualty insurance rates. At that time, the Insurance Board’s general duties were defined under 36 O.S.1941, §§ 131-151. The “Casualty [1362]*1362Rating Act.” supra, expressly excluded some of these sections from application to it. Section 134 was not so excluded. It provided:

“§ 134. Control of rates When said board shall determine that any rate made by such insurance company in this state is excessive or unreasonably high, or that said rate is inadequate to the safety or soundness of the company granting the same, it is authorized to direct said company to file a higher or lower rate, commensurate with the risk, but in every case the rate shall be reasonable. Laws 1915, Ch. 174, § 4.”

This court held in American Druggist Fire Ins. Co. v. State Ins. Board, 184 Okl. 66, 84 P.2d 614 (1938) there was no specific provision authorizing the board to fix or approve rates but under § 134 the authority “to direct said company to file a higher or lower rate” gave the board the right to approve or fix rates. This American Druggist Fire Insurance opinion is cited in Committee of Oil Refiners of Oklahoma v. State Insurance Board, 192 Okl. 92, 133 P.2d 885, 886 (1943) as giving the State Insurance Board the implied power to fix rates under its statutory authority at § 134, supra, to direct any insurance company “to file a higher or lower rate.” Section 134 was not carried over and is not found in the Insurance Code adopted in 1957. It is not now in effect.

The “Casualty Rating Act” as originally adopted allowed rates to become effective immediately upon filing with the Board and were to remain in effect until changed by the company or rating organization making them, or their further use was prohibited by order of the Board in accordance with provision of Section 2(g) of the act (36 O.S.1951, § 882(g)). In 1953 this subsection was amended. Any filing was to be approved or disapproved by the insurance board. The filing was not effective until approved by the Board. With this change, the amendment also provided:

“Rates approved as herein provided shall thereafter remain in effect unless and until changed by the Insurance Board.”

“Insurance Board” was in lieu of “the company or rating organizations making the filing” as originally passed. This language was carried over in the Insurance Code as a portion of subsection G, § 902.

Subsection G, § 902 of the Insurance Code when adopted in 1957 was considered new material for the “Casualty Rating Act.” It was amended in the Code to conform with provisions of the Fire Rating Act (36 O.S.1971, § 1004, subd. D). Subsection G, supra, now in effect provides for any rate schedule to be on file for a waiting period of thirty (30) days before it becomes effective. The Board may extend the waiting period for an additional period not to exceed fifteen (15) days. A filing is deemed to meet the requirements of the act unless disapproved by the Board within the waiting period. The Board has the authority to disapprove.

The Insurance Code no longer gave to the Board the authority to direct any insurance company “to file a higher or lower rate” (36 O.S.1951, § 134). Without that authority the Board did not have the implied power to approve or fix rates. We do not believe the language presently found in § 902, subd. G, supra, “Rates approved as herein provided (automatic after the waiting period unless disapproved) shall thereafter remain in effect unless and until changed by the Board” establishes the implied power to fix rates as held heretofore under § 134. The failure to reenact Section 134 which this court had held impliedly authorized the Board to fix rates reenforces our conclusion concerning the quoted portion of § 902, subd. G above.

As relating to rates, Sections 902 and 903, supra, must be read and applied together.

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Oklahoma Attorney General Reports, 1979
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522 S.W.2d 428 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1975)

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1975 OK 3, 530 P.2d 1359, 1975 Okla. LEXIS 309, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/insurance-services-office-v-state-board-for-property-casualty-rates-okla-1975.