The Kentucky Department of Insurance recently posted the local government premium tax schedule for 2026-2027, showing tax rates and fees for more than 400 cities, towns and counties.
The tax rate varies considerably from one local jurisdiction to another, the DOI’s schedule shows. For the state capital of Frankfort, for example, fire and allied pe
rils lines are taxed at 9%. But Lexington-Fayette County sets the rate at 5%.
The bulletin can be seen here, and the schedule is here.
The department also posted a local government premium tax risk location chart, available here.
“Taxes are imposed on insurance risks located within the corporate limits of the local governm
ent,” the DOI bulletin reads. “An insurance risk may not necessarily be located at the mailing address of the insured. It is imperative that
the insurance company/surplus lines broker identify the specific county and/or city, as well as physical address/actual risk location, in order to properly assess the LGPT.”
ZIP codes should not be used to determine the tax amount.
Iran has laid out an updated process for ships seeking to transit Hormuz, but several shipowners said they remained cautious about sending their vessels through until there are more details about the conditions that may be imposed.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Wednesday that “safe, stable passage” through the waterway will be possible with “new protocols in place.” That cam
e soon after a report that the US had proposed a peace deal, which Tehran is now considering.
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Iranian media have reported that shipowners need to send an email to an organization called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority if they want to send ships through the waterway. A form sent in response to applicants for transit thr
ough the strait from the organization’s email address, seen by Bloomberg, asks for details of t
he ship’s destination, origin country, current and previous flag registration, the value of its cargo and the nationalities of its crew.
However, five industry executives, including shipowners, vessel managers and security consultants, said that it was too soon — and too unclear — for crossings to
resume. Two cited an attack on a container ship Tuesday as one reason to be wary.
The reopening of Hormuz is critical for the global oil market and the wider economy. Its effective clos
ure has choked off hundreds of millions of barrels of supply and driven a surge in prices. US gasoline this week topped $4.50 a gallon for the first time since 2022.
A number of vessels transited previously with permission from Iran, following a prescribed route to the north of the strait that hugs its own coastline. However, observable s
ailings through the waterway have dropped sharply in recent weeks, after the US imposed a blockade on Iranian oil.
The updated instructions from Iran also followed a whiplash of news from the US over its plans for the strait, after President Donald Trump on Sunday announced a pro
gram to guide stranded vessels out of the Gulf, only to abandon it two days later.
“The shipowners I’ve spoken to have said they’ll believe it when they see it,” Halvor Ellefsen, a London-based director at Fearnleys Shipbrokers UK Ltd., said of
the possibility of Hormuz traffic resuming. “It’s not the first time there have been public statements that were encouraging, only for them not to materialize.”
An official at one tanker company said they wouldn’t contact Iran for permission to transit, because they were wary about giving the authorities precise details of vessel movements.
