House Bill hb1699

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1699

        By Representative Waters






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Florida Windstorm

  3         Underwriting Association; amending s. 627.351,

  4         F.S.; providing exemptions from the public

  5         records law for specified records of the

  6         association; providing an exemption for certain

  7         meetings of the members of the board of

  8         directors of the association; providing for

  9         future review and repeal; providing a finding

10         of public necessity; providing an effective

11         date.

12

13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

14

15         Section 1.  Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (2) of

16  section 627.351, Florida Statutes, to read:

17         627.351  Insurance risk apportionment plans.--

18         (2)  WINDSTORM INSURANCE RISK APPORTIONMENT.--

19         (f)1.  The following records of the Florida Windstorm

20  Underwriting Association are confidential and exempt from the

21  provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State

22  Constitution:

23         a.  Appraisals, surveys, applications, and other

24  information relating to a policyholder's property, including

25  its location, type of construction, and valuation, and related

26  information; the name and address of the policyholder and the

27  producer of record; all information relating to underlying

28  property coverages on the policyholder's property, including

29  the name and address of the underlying property insurer and

30  its agent of record and policy expirations; all information

31  generated in connection with applications for coverage; and

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  1  all information included in underwriting files. However, the

  2  policyholder shall have access to all of this information.

  3         b.  Claims files, until termination of all litigation

  4  and settlement of all claims arising out of the same incident,

  5  although portions of the claims files may remain exempt, as

  6  otherwise provided by law. Confidential and exempt claims file

  7  records may be released to other governmental agencies upon

  8  written request and demonstration of need; such records held

  9  by the receiving agency remain confidential and exempt as

10  provided for in this paragraph.

11         c.  Records obtained or generated by an internal

12  auditor pursuant to a routine audit, until the audit is

13  completed, or if the audit is conducted as part of an

14  investigation, until the investigation is closed or ceases to

15  be active.  An investigation is considered active while the

16  investigation is being conducted with a reasonable, good-

17  faith belief that it could lead to the filing of

18  administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings.

19         d.  Matters reasonably encompassed in privileged

20  attorney-client communications.

21         e.  All proprietary information and data, including

22  computer models, and all data, programs, or supporting

23  documentation that is a trade secret, as defined in s.

24  812.081, licensed or furnished to or used by the association

25  as part of a response to a request for proposals under

26  sub-subparagraph h. or under separate contract between the

27  owner and the association if such response or contract

28  provides for confidentiality.

29         f.  All information relating to the medical condition

30  or medical status of an association employee which is not

31  relevant to the employee's capacity to perform his or her

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  1  duties, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph.

  2  Information that is exempt includes, but is not limited to,

  3  information relating to workers' compensation, insurance

  4  benefits, and retirement or disability benefits.

  5         g.  Upon an employee's entrance into the employee

  6  assistance program or a program to assist any employee who has

  7  a behavioral or medical disorder, substance-abuse problem, or

  8  emotional difficulty that affects the employee's job

  9  performance, all records relative to that participation,

10  except as otherwise provided in s. 112.0455(11).

11         h.  When the association issues requests for proposals

12  from vendors to perform services as reinsurance

13  intermediaries, financial advisors, mapping experts, modelers,

14  financial managers, or other specialized professional

15  services, all responses to such requests, until the successful

16  vendor is selected.

17         2.  When an authorized insurer is considering assuming

18  or taking out a risk insured by the association, relevant

19  underwriting files and confidential claims files may be

20  released to the insurer if the insurer or licensed agent

21  agrees in writing, notarized and under oath, to maintain the

22  confidentiality of such files.  When a file is transferred to

23  an insurer or authorized agent that file is no longer a public

24  record because it is not held by an agency subject to the

25  provisions of the public records law.

26         3.  The attendance at and participation in meetings,

27  negotiating sessions, presentations, conferences, and

28  promotional sessions by two or more members of the board of

29  directors of the association with lenders, rating agencies,

30  investors, underwriters, and government officials incident to

31  promoting, marketing, negotiating, or consummating a debt

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  1  financing by the association are exempt from the provisions of

  2  s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution when

  3  the debt financing has been approved by the board of directors

  4  at a public meeting complying with the Sunshine Law.

  5         4.  The exemptions provided in this paragraph are

  6  subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance

  7  with s. 119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2005,

  8  unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by

  9  the Legislature.

10         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public

11  necessity that certain association records be held

12  confidential and exempt. Certain medical records of

13  association employees should be held confidential and exempt

14  because they contain personal, sensitive information regarding

15  an employee's medical condition the disclosure of which would

16  be harmful to the employee. Likewise appraisals, applications,

17  and other information relating to a propertyholder's property

18  and underwriting files contain information the disclosure of

19  which could be harmful to the policyholder. Additionally such

20  files contain proprietary confidential business information.

21  Accordingly, it is a public necessity that those files be

22  closed. Additionally, matters reasonably encompassed in

23  privileged attorney-client communications should be held

24  confidential and exempt because the release of such

25  information could jeopardize ongoing or pending litigation or

26  other business matters. Also, open claims files records should

27  be closed. If such records and meetings were not exempt,

28  claimants would have unfettered access to information held by

29  the association which could be used as evidence and for

30  purposes of negotiation, claim evaluation, and settlement

31  considerations, which would result in higher awards and

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  1  settlements paid out by the association and ultimately the

  2  consumer. Records held by an internal auditor while an audit

  3  is incomplete or while an investigation is pending should be

  4  held confidential and exempt because otherwise inaccurate

  5  information would possibly be released or investigations

  6  jeopardized. Finally, it is in the public interest and a

  7  public necessity that attendance by the association's

  8  directors at meetings and negotiations between members of the

  9  association's board of directors and lenders, rating agencies,

10  underwriters, and government officials incidental to debt

11  financing by the association should be exempt from the public

12  meetings law when the debt financing has been approved at a

13  public meeting.

14         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

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16            *****************************************

17                          HOUSE SUMMARY

18    Provides exemptions from the public records and public
      meetings laws for specified records of the Florida
19    Windstorm Underwriting Association and meetings of its
      board of directors. Provides for future review and
20    repeal. Provides a finding of public necessity.

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