Homeowners insurance in Arkansas

The home insurance market in Arkansas

Arkansans paid $1.82 billion in homeowners premiums in 2025, according to NAIC market share data. These are the 10 largest insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written:

State Farm writes more than a quarter of Arkansas homeowners premiums, about twice the share of the second-largest group, Farm Bureau. Allstate, Farmers and Shelter each hold 8% to 10%, so the top five write about two-thirds of the market. Farm Bureau and Shelter, a Missouri-based regional mutual, rank only 37th and 35th nationally but sit in Arkansas's top five; both sell through local agents.

What drives home insurance costs in Arkansas

Arkansas homeowners pay more than average. The NAIC put the state's average HO-3 premium at $1,870 for 2023, about 8% above the countrywide average of $1,737, even though the state has no coastline.

The reasons are convective storms:

• Hail. Arkansas recorded 154 major hail events (hailstones an inch or larger) in 2025, 10th among the states, according to NOAA data compiled by the Insurance Information Institute.
• Tornadoes. On March 31, 2023, an EF-3 tornado cut through the Little Rock metro area, and a second supercell struck Wynne the same afternoon (National Weather Service). Severe storms, tornadoes and flooding between April 2 and 22, 2025 led to a federal major disaster declaration on May 21, 2025.
• Ice and flooding. The January 2009 ice storm left as many as 350,000 customers without power, and in 2019 the Arkansas River crested more than two feet above previous records at Van Buren, Toad Suck and Pendleton, breaching levees (NWS Little Rock).

Deductibles and coverage rules to know

Arkansas has no hurricane or named-storm deductible rules. Check instead whether your policy has a separate wind and hail deductible, which may be a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat dollar amount. Say your dwelling limit is $250,000 and your wind/hail deductible is 2%: a hailstorm that ruins the roof leaves you paying the first $5,000, even if your all-other-perils deductible is $1,000. Run your numbers with the hurricane and percentage deductible calculator, and see wind and hail deductibles explained.

Look for two other roof provisions on the declarations page: a roof surfacing payment schedule or actual cash value roof endorsement, which pays an older roof's depreciated value, and a cosmetic damage exclusion, which can deny hail dents on metal roofs that do not let water in. The roof claim payout estimator shows how much a depreciated roof settlement can cost you.

Earthquake is excluded from standard homeowners policies under the earth movement exclusion. Northeast Arkansas lies near the New Madrid Seismic Zone, so homeowners there should price an earthquake endorsement and its percentage deductible. See earthquake insurance explained.

Flood and other gaps

Homeowners policies exclude flood, including river flooding behind levees and flash flooding from storms like those of April 2025. FEMA counted 10,810 NFIP policies in force in Arkansas as of September 30, 2026, down 618 from a year earlier, a 5.4% drop. New NFIP policies generally take 30 days to start, so a policy bought when the river is already rising will not cover that flood; see NFIP flood insurance explained.

If you can't find coverage

Arkansas has no FAIR plan and no wind pool; it does not appear on PIPSO's list of state residual property plans. A home that admitted insurers decline, often because of an old roof, a prior loss or its condition, generally goes to surplus lines home insurance when standard carriers say no through a licensed surplus lines broker. Expect a higher price and narrower terms, and read the roof and wind/hail provisions closely.

Claims rules and deadlines

The Arkansas Insurance Department's Rule 43 sets the timelines. An insurer must acknowledge a claim within 15 working days and, under Ark. Code §23-79-126, furnish proof-of-loss forms within 20 calendar days after the loss is reported or waive the proof-of-loss requirement. It must finish investigating within 45 calendar days unless that cannot reasonably be done, and must accept or deny within 15 working days after receiving a properly executed proof of loss. If it needs more time, it must say so in writing within those 15 working days and update you at least every 45 calendar days. A denial must be in writing and cite the specific policy provision it relies on, and claim checks must go out within 10 working days after the claim is processed and closed.

Rule 43 also protects people handling their own claims: an insurer must give a first-party claimant without a lawyer written notice at least 30 working days before a policy or statutory time limit may expire. Your policy's suit clause sets the contractual deadline, so read it, and talk to an attorney well before it runs. We found no state-run claim mediation program in Arkansas; disputes over the amount of a loss usually go to the policy's appraisal clause.

Discounts and mitigation programs

Strengthen Arkansas Homes, created by 2025 legislation, is the state's FORTIFIED roof grant program. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety reported in July 2025 that it would begin offering grants to homeowners and nonprofits for FORTIFIED roofs in 2026; check with the Insurance Department for application windows and amounts, which we could not confirm. Similar programs in Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma pay up to $10,000 toward a FORTIFIED Roof. See The FORTIFIED Home standard and insurance discounts.

Ask insurers about credits for impact-resistant (Class 4) shingles, which are filed company by company. Credit history also matters: an Arkansas Insurance Department report cited by the Insurance Information Institute found that, in 2016 data, credit lowered the premium for 56.6% of homeowners policies and raised it for 16.5%.

Where to get help

The Arkansas Insurance Department's Consumer Services Division is at 1 Commerce Way, Suite 102, Little Rock, AR 72202. Call 800-852-5494 or 501-371-2640, or email [email protected]. Jimmy Harris became Insurance Commissioner in November 2025. Try your agent and insurer first, then file a complaint with copies of your policy, claim correspondence and photos; see how to file a complaint with your state insurance department. If you get a nonrenewal notice, the nonrenewal action plan lays out next steps. Neighboring Missouri and Mississippi have FAIR plans; Arkansas does not.