Insurance companies and certain other entities regulated by the Iowa Insurance Division are required by law to consent to having the Iowa Insurance Commissioner serve as agent for the entity for the purpose of receiving service of process in Iowa. The Iowa Insurance Division serves documents related to the initiation of a case, such as original notices, petitions and jury demands. The Iowa Insurance Division will not serve documents related to later motions or pleadings or requests in a case, including but not limited to subpoenas and garnishments, unless required to do so by law. The Iowa Insurance Division also serves documents related to matters in the Iowa court system. The Iowa Insurance Division will not serve documents related to matters in other court or administrative systems, including but not limited to other statesβ systems or the federal court system.
To use the Iowa Insurance Commissioner as agent for service of process, mail the following to the Iowa Insurance Division:
- For each entity to be served, one original and one copy of the documents to be served by the Iowa Insurance Division;
- A cover letter indicating the name of each insurance company or other entity to be served by the Iowa Insurance Division;
- A check for total service fees, payable to the Iowa Insurance Division, for $50.00 for each entity to be served.
Once the information listed above is received, the Iowa Insurance Division will accept the service of process on behalf of the regulated entity, and will forward the original documents by certified mail to the entity indicated on the cover letter. Also, the Iowa Insurance Division will electronically file an Acceptance of Service document through the Iowa Courts website. The court will send an email notification of its receipt of the electronic filing to the entity that requested service.