Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 23 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND REGULATED INDUSTRIES (§§ 23-1-101 — 23-119-105) › Subtitle 3 - INSURANCE (§§ 23-60-101 — 23-103-417) › Chapter 63 - INSURANCE COMPANIES GENERALLY (§§ 23-63-101 — 23-63-2010) › Subchapter 5 - INSURANCE HOLDING COMPANY REGULATORY ACT (§§ 23-63-501 — 23-63-532) › Section 23-63-517 - Confidential treatment

(a)
(1)
All information and documents obtained by or disclosed to the Insurance Commissioner or any other person in the course of an examination or investigation made under §
23-63-516
and all information reported under §§
23-63-514
and
23-63-515
shall be given confidential treatment and shall not be subject to subpoena or discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action or be made public by the commissioner under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, §
25-19-101
et seq., or any other public records law, or by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. However, the commissioner is authorized to use the documents, materials, or other information in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as part of the commissioner's duties.
(2)
The information, documents, and copies of the information shall not be subject to subpoena or be made public without the prior written consent of the insurer to which it pertains unless the commissioner, after giving the insurer and any of the insurer's affiliates that may be affected notice and an opportunity to be heard, determines that the interests of policyholders, shareholders, or the public will be served by the publication of the information.
(3)
In that event, the commissioner may publish any part of the information in the manner the commissioner considers appropriate.
(b)
The commissioner and any person who received documents, materials, or other information while acting on behalf of the commissioner or person with whom the commissioner shares the documents, materials, or other information under this section shall not be permitted or required to testify in a private civil action concerning confidential documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (a) of this section.
(c)
(1)
In order to assist in the performance of the commissioner's duties under this section, the commissioner may share documents, materials, or other information, including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or other information subject to this section, with other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies or law enforcement authorities, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and members of any supervisory college if the recipient or recipients agree in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the information and the recipient or recipients verify the existing legal authority to maintain the confidentiality of the information.
(2)
Notwithstanding subdivision (c)(1) of this section, the commissioner may only share confidential and privileged documents, material, or information under §
23-63-514(m)
with the state commissioners of those states that have similar statutes or rules that are substantially similar to subsection (a) of this section and that agree in writing not to disclose the information.
(3)
(A)
The commissioner may receive documents, materials, or information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information, from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries and from regulatory and law enforcement officials of other foreign or domestic jurisdictions.
(B)
Documents, materials, or information received by the commissioner under subdivision (c)(3)(A) of this section shall be maintained as confidential or privileged under the laws of the source jurisdiction if the commissioner is provided with notice or receives the documents, materials, or information with the understanding that the information is confidential or privileged.
(4)
(A)
If the commissioner intends to share or use information with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the commissioner shall enter into a written agreement with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners governing the sharing and use of the information provided under this section.
(B)
The written agreement under subdivision (c)(4)(A) of this section shall:
(i)
Specify the procedures and protocols regarding the confidentiality and security of information that is shared with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, including procedures and protocols for sharing by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners with other state, federal, or international regulators;
(ii)
Specify that ownership of the information shared with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, remains with the commissioner, and that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' use of the information is subject to the direction of the commissioner;
(iii)
Require prompt notice be given to an insurer whose confidential information is shared with and in the possession of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners under this section that the confidential information is subject to a request or subpoena to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to disclose or produce the confidential information; and
(iv)
Require the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries to consent to intervention by an insurer in any judicial or administrative action in which the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries may be required to disclose confidential information of the insurer shared with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries under this section.
(d)
The sharing of information by the commissioner under this section does 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 section.
(e)
A waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents, materials, or information does not occur as a result of disclosure to the commissioner under this section or as a result of sharing the documents, materials, or information as authorized in this section.
(f)
(1)
Documents, materials, or other information shared under this section that are in the possession or control of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shall remain confidential by law and are privileged.
(2)
The information described under subdivision (f)(1) of this section is not:
(A)
Subject to:
(i)
The Freedom of Information Act of 1967, §
25-19-101
et seq.;
(ii)
Subpoena; or
(iii)
Discovery; or
(B)
Admissible in evidence in any private civil action.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 334,§ 5, eff. 8/1/2017.
Amended by Act 2015, No. 1223,§ 13, eff. 7/22/2015.
Acts 1971, No. 288, § 9; A.S.A. 1947, § 66-5009; Acts 1991, No. 723, § 26.