Senate Bill 5806 — Confidentiality of Insurance Company Data (Washington, 2024 Regular Session)

Summary

Senate Bill 5806, State of Washington, 68th Legislature, 2024 Regular Session, by Senators Kuderer, Hunt, Dhingra and others. The act relates to the confidentiality of insurance company data and amends RCW 48.02.065. The text states that specified documents, materials, or other information are confidential by law and privileged, are not subject to public disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW, and are not subject to subpoena directed to the commissioner. It also states that after a regular hearing the court may order public disclosure if it finds a public interest in disclosure and the exemption is clearly unnecessary to protect any individual's right of privacy. The bill was prefiled December 6, 2023, and read first time January 8, 2024.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

     S-3620.1

                               SENATE BILL 5806


     State of Washington       68th Legislature       2024 Regular Session

     By Senators Kuderer, Hunt, Dhingra, Hasegawa, and Nobles

     Prefiled 12/06/23. Read first time 01/08/24. Referred to Committee
     on Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade.




1        AN ACT Relating to the confidentiality of insurance company data;
2    and amending RCW 48.02.065.


3    BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:


 4       Sec. 1.   RCW 48.02.065 and 2015 c 122 s 15 are each amended to
 5   read as follows:
 6       (1) Documents, materials, or other information as described in
 7   ((either subsection (5) or (6), or both,)) subsections (5), (6), (7),
 8   and (8) of this section are confidential by law and privileged, are
 9   not subject to public disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW, and are not
10   subject to subpoena directed to the commissioner or any person who
11   received documents, materials, or other information while acting
12   under the authority of the commissioner. The commissioner is
13   authorized to use such documents, materials, or other information in
14   the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as a part
15   of the commissioner's official duties. The confidentiality and
16   privilege created by this section and RCW 42.56.400(8) applies only
17   to the commissioner, any person acting under the authority of the
18   commissioner, the national association of insurance commissioners and
19   its affiliates and subsidiaries, regulatory and law enforcement
20   officials of other states and nations, the federal government, and
21   international authorities.
                                     p. 1                           SB 5806
 1       (2) Neither the commissioner nor any person who received
 2   documents, materials, or other information while acting under the
 3   authority of the commissioner is permitted or required to testify in
 4   any private civil action concerning any confidential and privileged
 5   documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (1) of
 6   this section.
 7       (3) The commissioner:
 8       (a) May share documents, materials, or other information,
 9   including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or
10   information subject to subsection (1) of this section, with (i) the
11   national association of insurance commissioners and its affiliates
12   and subsidiaries, ((and)) (ii) regulatory and law enforcement
13   officials of other states and nations, the federal government, and
14   international authorities, and (iii) agencies of this state, if the
15   recipient agrees to maintain the confidentiality and privileged
16   status of the document, material, or other information;
17       (b) May receive documents, materials, or information, including
18   otherwise either confidential or privileged, or both, documents,
19   materials, or information, from (i) the national association of
20   insurance commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and (ii)
21   regulatory and law enforcement officials of other states and nations,
22   the federal government, and international authorities and shall
23   maintain as confidential and privileged any document, material, or
24   information received that is either confidential or privileged, or
25   both, under the laws of the jurisdiction that is the source of the
26   document, material, or information; and
27       (c) May enter into agreements governing the sharing and use of
28   information consistent with this subsection.
29       (4)   No   waiver   of    an  existing  privilege  or  claim   of
30   confidentiality in the documents, materials, or information may occur
31   as a result of disclosure to the commissioner under this section or
32   as a result of sharing as authorized in subsection (3) of this
33   section.
34       (5) Documents, materials, or information, which is either
35   confidential or privileged, or both, which has been provided to the
36   commissioner   by   (a)    the   national  association  of  insurance
37   commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, (b) regulatory or
38   law enforcement officials of other states and nations, the federal
39   government, or international authorities, or (c) agencies of this
40   state, is confidential and privileged only if the documents,
                                     p. 2                          SB 5806
 1   materials, or information is protected from disclosure by the
 2   applicable laws of the jurisdiction that is the source of the
 3   document, material, or information.
 4       (6) Working papers, documents, materials, or information produced
 5   by, obtained by, or disclosed to the commissioner or any other person
 6   in the course of a financial or market conduct examination, or in the
 7   course of financial analysis or market conduct desk audit, are not
 8   required to be disclosed by the commissioner unless cited by the
 9   commissioner in connection with an agency action as defined in RCW
10   34.05.010(3). The commissioner shall notify a party that produced the
11   documents, materials, or information five business days before
12   disclosure in connection with an agency action. The notified party
13   may seek injunctive relief in any Washington state superior court to
14   prevent disclosure of any documents, materials, or information it
15   believes is confidential or privileged. In civil actions between
16   private   parties  or   in  criminal   actions,  disclosure   to  the
17   commissioner under this section does not create any privilege or
18   claim of confidentiality or waive any existing privilege or claim of
19   confidentiality.
20       (7) Documents, materials, or information provided to the
21   commissioner   by  the    federal   government related   to   emergency
22   management, hazard mitigation, and the national flood insurance
23   program are confidential by law and privileged, and are not subject
24   to public disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW.
25       (8) Data requested by the commissioner from property and casualty
26   entities   regulated   by   the   commissioner for   the   purpose   of
27   understanding and studying insurance market conditions outside the
28   context of market conduct action is confidential by law and
29   privileged and is not subject to public disclosure under chapter
30   42.56 RCW unless cited by the commissioner in connection with an
31   agency action as defined in RCW 34.05.010. Nothing in this section
32   prohibits the commissioner from preparing and publishing reports,
33   analysis, or other documents using the data received from individual
34   property and casualty companies so long as the data in the report is
35   in aggregate form and does not permit the identification of
36   information related to individual companies. Data in the aggregate
37   form are deemed open records available for public inspection. Nothing
38   in this section affects, limits, or amends the commissioner's
39   authority under chapter 48.37 RCW.


                                      p. 3                          SB 5806
 1       (9)(a) After receipt of a public disclosure request, the
 2   commissioner shall disclose the documents, materials, or information
 3   under subsection (6) of this section that relate to a financial or
 4   market conduct examination undertaken as a result of a proposed
 5   change of control of a nonprofit or mutual health insurer governed in
 6   whole or in part by chapter 48.31B RCW.
 7       (b) The commissioner is not required to disclose the documents,
 8   materials, or information in (a) of this subsection if:
 9       (i) The documents, materials, or information are otherwise
10   privileged or exempted from public disclosure; or
11       (ii) The commissioner finds that the public interest in
12   disclosure of the documents, materials, or information is outweighed
13   by the public interest in nondisclosure in that particular instance.
14       (((8))) (10) Any person may petition a Washington state superior
15   court to allow inspection of information exempt from public
16   disclosure under subsection (6) of this section when the information
17   is connected to allegations of negligence or malfeasance by the
18   commissioner related to a financial or market conduct examination.
19   The court shall conduct an in-camera review after notifying the
20   commissioner and every party that produced the information. The court
21   may order the commissioner to allow the petitioner to have access to
22   the information provided the petitioner maintains the confidentiality
23   of the information. The petitioner must not disclose the information
24   to any other person, except upon further order of the court. After
25   conducting a regular hearing, the court may order that the
26   information can be disclosed publicly if the court finds that there
27   is a public interest in the disclosure of the information and the
28   exemption of the information from public disclosure is clearly
29   unnecessary to protect any individual's right of privacy or any vital
30   governmental function.

                                  --- END ---




                                     p. 4                          SB 5806


File and source

File

2024-01-16_a31644_bill_5806.pdf

Size

72,951 bytes

SHA-256

994c9572f5fda13a6222a13143118ca739a51dc1f8b3719cb692756d7f693f9d

Our copy

2024-01-16_a31644_bill_5806.pdf

Original

No public link identified.