Florida Senate - 2016                      CS for CS for SB 1416
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Banking and Insurance; and Senator Simmons
       
       585-03242-16                                          20161416c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         624.4212, F.S.; providing an exemption from public
    4         records requirements for certain reports and documents
    5         submitted to the Office of Insurance Regulation
    6         related to an own-risk and solvency assessment by an
    7         insurer or insurance group; providing an exemption
    8         from public records requirements for a corporate
    9         governance annual disclosure and supporting documents
   10         submitted to the office; revising the actuarial board
   11         to which the office may disclose certain information;
   12         providing for and revising future legislative review
   13         and repeal; providing a statement of public necessity;
   14         providing a contingent effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Present subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section
   19  624.4212, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (4),
   20  (5), and (6), respectively, and amended, and a new subsection
   21  (3) is added to that section, to read:
   22         624.4212 Confidentiality of proprietary business and other
   23  information.—
   24         (3) Except for information obtained by the office which
   25  would otherwise be available for public inspection, the
   26  following information held by the office is confidential and
   27  exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
   28  Constitution:
   29         (a) An ORSA summary report, a substantially similar ORSA
   30  report, and supporting documents submitted pursuant to s.
   31  628.8015.
   32         (b) A corporate governance annual disclosure and supporting
   33  documents submitted pursuant to s. 628.8015.
   34         (4)(3) Information received from the NAIC, a or another
   35  governmental entity in this or another state, the Federal
   36  Government, or a government of another nation which is
   37  confidential or exempt if held by that entity and which is held
   38  by the office for use in the office’s performance of its duties
   39  relating to insurer valuation and solvency is confidential and
   40  exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
   41  Constitution.
   42         (5)(4) The office may disclose information made
   43  confidential and exempt under this section:
   44         (a) If the insurer to which it pertains gives prior written
   45  consent;
   46         (b) Pursuant to a court order;
   47         (c) To the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline
   48  American Academy of Actuaries upon a request stating that the
   49  information is for the purpose of professional disciplinary
   50  proceedings and specifying procedures satisfactory to the office
   51  for preserving the confidentiality of the information;
   52         (d) To other states, federal and international agencies,
   53  the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its
   54  affiliates and subsidiaries, and state, federal, and
   55  international law enforcement authorities, including members of
   56  a supervisory college described in s. 628.805 if the recipient
   57  agrees in writing to maintain the confidential and exempt status
   58  of the document, material, or other information and has
   59  certified in writing its legal authority to maintain such
   60  confidentiality; or
   61         (e) For the purpose of aggregating information on an
   62  industrywide basis and disclosing the information to the public
   63  only if the specific identities of the insurers, or persons or
   64  affiliated persons, are not revealed.
   65         (6)(5) This section is subject to the Open Government
   66  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and is repealed
   67  on October 2, 2021 2019, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   68  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   69         Section 2. (1) The Legislature finds that it is a public
   70  necessity that the own-risk and solvency assessment (ORSA)
   71  summary report, a substantially similar ORSA report, and
   72  supporting documents submitted to and held by the Office of
   73  Insurance Regulation pursuant to s. 628.8015, Florida Statutes,
   74  be confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes,
   75  and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. In conducting
   76  this required internal assessment, an insurer or insurance group
   77  identifies and evaluates the material and relevant risks to the
   78  insurer or insurance group and the adequacy of capital resources
   79  to support these risks. The ORSA summary report, substantially
   80  similar ORSA report, and supporting documents contain highly
   81  sensitive and strategic financial information about an insurer
   82  or insurer group. Having a comprehensive and unbiased assessment
   83  will provide the office with an effective early warning
   84  mechanism for preventing insolvencies and protecting
   85  policyholders and promote a stable insurance market. Divulging
   86  the ORSA summary report, substantially similar ORSA summary
   87  report, and supporting documents will injure the insurer or
   88  insurance group by providing competitors with detailed insight
   89  into their financial position, risk management strategies,
   90  business plans, pricing and marketing strategies, management
   91  systems, and operational protocols.
   92         (2)The Legislature finds that it is a public necessity
   93  that the corporate governance annual disclosure and supporting
   94  documents submitted to and held by the office be confidential
   95  and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a),
   96  Article I of the State Constitution. The corporate governance
   97  annual disclosure describes an insurer’s governance structure
   98  and the internal practices and procedures used in conducting the
   99  business affairs of the company, making strategic operational
  100  decisions affecting its competitive position, and managing its
  101  financial condition. Release of the corporate governance annual
  102  disclosure and supporting documents will injure the insurer or
  103  insurance group in the marketplace by providing competitors with
  104  the insurer’s or the insurance group’s confidential business
  105  information. Broad disclosure will give state regulators a
  106  thorough understanding of the corporate governance structure and
  107  internal policies and practices used by insurers and promote
  108  market integrity. Effective governance mechanisms will enable
  109  insurers to take any necessary corrective actions and achieve
  110  strategic goals while allowing the office to perform its
  111  regulatory duties effectively and efficiently.
  112         Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that
  113  SB 1422 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
  114  is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
  115  thereof and becomes a law.