Florida Senate - 2013 (Corrected Copy) SB 1886
By the Committee on Banking and Insurance
597-04478A-13 20131886__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; amending s.
3 324.242, F.S.; providing a public records exemption
4 for certain information regarding bodily injury
5 liability insurance policies; providing for future
6 legislative review and repeal of the exemption for
7 information regarding certain liability insurance
8 policies under the Open Government Sunset Review Act;
9 providing a statement of public necessity; providing a
10 contingent effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Section 324.242, Florida Statutes, is amended to
15 read:
16 324.242 Personal injury protection and property damage
17 liability insurance policies; public records exemption.—
18 (1) The following information regarding personal injury
19 protection, bodily injury liability, and property damage
20 liability insurance policies held by the department is
21 confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I
22 of the State Constitution:
23 (a) Personal identifying information of an insured or
24 former insured; and
25 (b) An insurance policy number.
26 (2) Upon receipt of a written request and a copy of a crash
27 report as required under s. 316.065, s. 316.066, or s. 316.068,
28 the department shall release the policy number for a policy
29 covering a vehicle involved in a motor vehicle accident to:
30 (a) Any person involved in such accident;
31 (b) The attorney of any person involved in such accident;
32 or
33 (c) A representative of the insurer of any person involved
34 in such accident.
35 (3) This exemption applies to personal identifying
36 information of an insured or former insured and insurance policy
37 numbers held by the department before, on, or after October 11,
38 2007.
39 (4) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
40 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
41 on October 2, 2018, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
42 through reenactment by the Legislature.
43 Section 2. The Legislature finds and declares that it is a
44 public necessity to make certain information regarding bodily
45 injury liability insurance policies held by the Department of
46 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles confidential and exempt from
47 the requirements of s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s.
48 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. In order to ensure
49 public safety on the roads and highways of this state, it is
50 imperative that automobile drivers be properly insured for
51 liability for bodily injury, as well as damage to real property.
52 As such, insurers are required to report to the Department of
53 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and verify the issuance of a
54 new policy to a driver, as well as the renewal, nonrenewal, or
55 cancellation of that policy. Such information includes the
56 personal identifying information of an insured or former insured
57 as well as the insurance policy number of the insured. If this
58 information is compiled, it could result in a customer list of
59 every insurer in the state. Customer lists contain detailed
60 client and policy information that is traditionally considered
61 proprietary business information because such lists could be
62 used by competitors to solicit customers. Consequently, the
63 release of that information could injure the insurer in the
64 marketplace by diminishing the advantage that the insurer
65 maintains over those who do not possess such information.
66 Further, public access to such information could be used to
67 perpetuate fraud against an insured and put him or her at risk
68 or to make the insured the target of uninvited solicitations
69 from other insurers or from others seeking to profit from motor
70 vehicle accidents.
71 Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that
72 SB ____ or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
73 is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
74 thereof and becomes a law.