| SB 0406 | Makes information collected in the course of an insurance compliance audit privileged information |
| Sponsor: | Klindt | |||
| LR Number: | 1340S.01I | Fiscal Note: | 1340-01 | |
| Committee: | Small Business, Insurance & Industrial Relations | |||
| Last Action: | 02/12/03 - Hearing Conducted S Small Business, Insurance and | Journal page: | ||
| Industrial Relations Committee | ||||
| Title: | ||||
| Effective Date: | August 28, 2003 | |||
SB 406 - This act makes information collected in the course of an insurance compliance audit privileged information and not discoverable in civil, criminal or administrative proceedings unless an exception applies.
Audit documents submitted to the Director of Insurance are confidential. Audit documents submitted to the department of insurance remain property of the insurer and are not subject to disclosure under the Sunshine Law. Persons preparing the audit documents shall not be examined in civil, criminal or administrative hearings unless the documents are not privileged.
The privilege established in this act shall not apply to documents which are expressly waived. A court may require disclosure of materials, after in-camera review, if it determines that the privilege was asserted for a fraudulent purpose or that the privilege does not apply. A court may order disclosure of materials in a criminal proceeding, after in-camera review, if it determines that the privilege was asserted for a fraudulent purpose, that the privilege does not apply or that material contains relevant evidence of a crime which is not otherwise available.
An insurer may voluntarily submit the audit to the Department of Insurance without waiving the privilege. The privilege is deemed to be waived by the insurer 30 days after receiving a request for disclosure of a self-evaluative audit by the Department or a prosecutor, unless the insurer files a petition for an in camera examination. Any compelled disclosure of an audit will not make the audit a public document.
The privilege shall not apply to:
(1) Documents expressly required to be collected, maintained or reported to regulatory agencies pursuant to law;
(2) Information obtained by observation or monitoring by any regulatory agency; or
(3) Information obtained from an independent source.
The privilege created by this act shall apply to all litigation or administrative proceedings pending on the effective date of this act.
This act is similar to SB 1157 (2002) and HB 927 (2001).
STEPHEN WITTE