The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 8 : Banking and Insurance

Chapter 101 : Insurance Companies Generally

Subchapter 007A : Own Risk and Solvency Assessment

• § 3588. Confidentiality

  (a) Documents, materials, or other information, including the summary report, in the possession of or control of the Department that are obtained by, created by, or disclosed to the Commissioner or any other person under this subchapter, is recognized by this State as being proprietary and to contain trade secrets. All such documents, materials, or other information shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall be exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act, shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action. The Commissioner, however, is authorized to use the documents, materials, or other information in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as a part of the Commissioner’s official duties. The Commissioner shall not otherwise make the documents, materials, or other information public without the prior written consent of the insurer.

  (b) Neither the Commissioner nor any person who received documents, materials, or other ORSA-related information, through examination or otherwise, while acting under the authority of the Commissioner or with whom such documents, materials, or other information are shared pursuant to this subchapter shall be permitted or required to testify in any private civil action concerning any confidential documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (a) of this section.

  (c) In furtherance of his or her regulatory duties, the Commissioner:

  (1) may, upon request, share documents, materials, or other ORSA-related information, including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (a) of this section, including proprietary and trade secret documents and materials, with other state, federal, and international financial regulatory agencies, including members of any supervisory college as defined in section 3695 of this title, with the NAIC and with any third-party consultants designated by the Commissioner, provided that the recipient agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the ORSA-related documents, materials, or other information and has verified in writing the legal authority to maintain confidentiality; and

  (2) may receive documents, materials, or other ORSA-related information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information, including proprietary and trade-secret information or documents, from regulatory officials of other foreign or domestic jurisdictions, including members of any supervisory college as defined in section 3695 of this title and from the NAIC, and shall maintain as confidential or privileged any documents, materials, or information received with notice or the understanding that it is confidential or privileged under the laws of the jurisdiction that is the source of the document, materials, or information.

  (3) shall enter into a written agreement with the NAIC or a third-party consultant governing sharing and use of information provided under this subchapter consistent with this subsection that shall:

  (A) specify procedures and protocols regarding the confidentiality and security of information shared with the NAIC or a third-party consultant pursuant to this subchapter, including procedures and protocols for sharing by the NAIC with other state regulators from states in which the insurance group has domiciled insurers. The agreement shall provide that the recipient agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the ORSA-related documents, materials, or other information and has verified in writing the legal authority to maintain confidentiality;

  (B) specify that ownership of information shared with the NAIC or a third-party consultant under this subchapter remains with the Commissioner and that the NAIC’s or a third-party consultant’s use of the information is subject to the direction of the Commissioner;

  (C) prohibit the NAIC or third-party consultant from storing the information shared under this subchapter in a permanent database after the underlying analysis is completed;

  (D) require prompt notice to be given to an insurer whose confidential information in the possession of the NAIC or a third-party consultant under this subchapter is subject to a request or subpoena to the NAIC or a third-party consultant for disclosure or production;

  (E) require the NAIC or a third-party consultant to consent to intervention by an insurer in any judicial or administrative action in which the NAIC or a third-party consultant may be required to disclose confidential information about the insurer shared with the NAIC or a third-party consultant under this subchapter; and

  (F) in the case of an agreement involving a third-party consultant, provide for the insurer’s written consent.

  (d) The sharing of information and documents by the Commissioner under this subchapter shall not constitute a delegation of regulatory authority or rulemaking, and the Commissioner is solely responsible for the administration, execution, and enforcement of the provisions of this subchapter.

  (e) No waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents, proprietary and trade-secret materials, or other ORSA-related information shall occur as a result of disclosure of such ORSA-related information or documents to the Commissioner under this section or as a result of sharing as authorized under this subchapter.

  (f) Documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the NAIC or a third-party consultant under this subchapter shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall be exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act, shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action. (Added 2013, No. 29, § 44, eff. Jan. 1, 2015.)