Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 37 - INSURANCE › Part XIII - Regulations › Chapter 99 - Regulation 76-Privacy of Consumer › Subchapter A - General Provisions › Section XIII-9909 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. As used in this regulation, unless the context requires
					 otherwise:
Affiliate
-any company that controls, is
					 controlled by or is under common control with another company.
Clear and Conspicuous
-that a notice is
					 reasonably understandable and designed to call attention to the nature and
					 significance of the information in the notice. Examples:
a.
Reasonably Understandable
-a licensee
					 makes its notice reasonably understandable if it:
i. presents the information in the notice in clear, concise
					 sentences, paragraphs, and sections;
ii. uses short explanatory sentences or bullet lists
					 whenever possible;
iii. uses definite, concrete, everyday words and active
					 voice whenever possible;
iv. avoids multiple negatives;
v. avoids legal and highly technical business terminology
					 whenever possible; and
vi. avoids explanations that are imprecise and readily
					 subject to different interpretations;
b.
Designed to Call Attention
-a licensee
					 designs its notice to call attention to the nature and significance of the
					 information in it if the licensee:
i. uses a plain-language heading to call attention to the
					 notice;
ii. uses a typeface and type size that are easy to
					 read;
iii. provides wide margins and ample line spacing;
iv. uses boldface or italics for key words; and
v. in a form that combines the licensee's notice with other
					 information, uses distinctive type size, style, and graphic devices, such as
					 shading or sidebars;
c.
Notices on Web Sites
-if a licensee
					 provides a notice on a web page, the licensee designs its notice to call
					 attention to the nature and significance of the information in it if the
					 licensee uses text or visual cues to encourage scrolling down the page if
					 necessary to view the entire notice and ensure that other elements on the web
					 site (such as text, graphics, hyperlinks or sound) do not distract attention
					 from the notice, and the licensee either:
i. places the notice on a screen that consumers frequently
					 access, such as a page on which transactions are conducted; or
ii. places a link on a screen that consumers frequently
					 access, such as a page on which transactions are conducted that connects
					 directly to the notice and is labeled appropriately to convey the importance,
					 nature and relevance of the notice.
Collect
-to obtain information that the
					 licensee organizes or can retrieve by the name of an individual or by
					 identifying number, symbol or other identifying particular assigned to the
					 individual, irrespective of the source of the underlying information.
Commissioner
-the Commissioner of
					 Insurance.
Company
-any natural person, partnership,
					 corporation, association, business, trust, unincorporated organization, or
					 other form of business enterprise, plural or singular, as the case
					 demands.
Consumer
-an individual who seeks to
					 obtain, obtains or has obtained an insurance product or service from a licensee
					 that is to be used primarily for personal, family or household purposes, and
					 about whom the licensee has nonpublic personal information, or that
					 individual's legal representative. Examples:
a. an individual who provides nonpublic personal
					 information to a licensee in connection with obtaining or seeking to obtain
					 financial, investment or economic advisory services relating to an insurance
					 product or service is a consumer regardless of whether the licensee establishes
					 an ongoing advisory relationship;
b. an applicant for insurance prior to the inception of
					 insurance coverage is a licensee's consumer;
c. an individual who is a consumer of another financial
					 institution is not a licensee's consumer solely because the licensee is acting
					 as agent for, or provides processing or other services to, that financial
					 institution;
d. an individual is a licensee's consumer if:
i.
(a). the individual is a beneficiary of a life insurance
					 policy underwritten by the licensee;
(b). the individual is a claimant under an insurance policy
					 issued by the licensee;
(c). the individual is an insured or an annuitant under an
					 insurance policy or an annuity, respectively, issued by the licensee; or
(d). the individual is a mortgagor of a mortgage covered
					 under a mortgage insurance policy; and
ii. the licensee discloses nonpublic personal financial
					 information about the individual to a nonaffiliated third party other than as
					 permitted under
					 §9929 of this regulation;
e. provided that the licensee provides the initial, annual
					 and revised notices under
					 §9911 of this regulation to the plan
					 sponsor, group or blanket insurance policyholder or group annuity contract
					 holder, and further provided that the licensee does not disclose to a
					 nonaffiliated third party nonpublic personal financial information about such
					 an individual other than as permitted under
					 §9929 of this regulation, an individual
					 is not the consumer of the licensee solely because he or she is:
i. a participant or a beneficiary of an employee benefit
					 plan that the licensee administers or sponsors or for which the licensee acts
					 as a trustee, insurer or fiduciary;
ii. covered under a group or blanket insurance policy or
					 group annuity contract issued by the licensee; or
f. in no event shall the individuals, solely by virtue of
					 the status described in Subparagraph e.i through iii above, be deemed to be
					 customers for purposes of this regulation;
g. an individual is not a licensee's consumer solely
					 because he or she is a beneficiary of a trust for which the licensee is a
					 trustee;
h. an individual is not a licensee's consumer solely
					 because he or she has designated the licensee as trustee for a trust.
Consumer Reporting Agency
-has the same
					 meaning as in Section 603(f) of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)).
Control
-
a. ownership, control or power to vote 25 percent or more
					 of the outstanding shares of any class of voting security of the company,
					 directly or indirectly, or acting through one or more other persons;
b. control in any manner over the election of a majority of
					 the directors, trustees or general partners (or individuals exercising similar
					 functions) of the company; or
c. the power to exercise, directly or indirectly, a
					 controlling influence over the management or policies of the company, as the
					 commissioner determines.
Customer
-a consumer who has a customer
					 relationship with a licensee.
Customer Relationship
-a continuing
					 relationship between a consumer and a licensee under which the licensee
					 provides one or more insurance products or services to the consumer that are to
					 be used primarily for personal, family or household purposes. Examples:
a. a consumer has a continuing relationship with a licensee
					 if:
i. the consumer is a current policyholder of an insurance
					 product issued by or through the licensee; or
ii. the con sumer obtains financial, investment or economic
					 advisory services relating to an insurance product or service from the licensee
					 for a fee;
b. a consumer does not have a continuing relationship with
					 a licensee if:
i. the consumer applies for insurance but does not purchase
					 the insurance;
ii. the licensee sells the consumer airline travel
					 insurance in an isolated transaction;
iii. the individual is no longer a current policyholder of
					 an insurance product or no longer obtains insurance services with or through
					 the licensee;
iv. the consumer is a beneficiary or claimant under a
					 policy and has submitted a claim under a policy choosing a settlement option
					 involving an ongoing relationship with the licensee;
v. the consumer is a beneficiary or a claimant under a
					 policy and has submitted a claim under that policy choosing a lump sum
					 settlement option;
vi. the customer's policy is lapsed, expired, or otherwise
					 inactive or dormant under the licensee's business practices, and the licensee
					 has not communicated with the customer about the relationship for a period of
					 12 consecutive months, other than annual privacy notices, material required by
					 law or regulation, communication at the direction of a state or federal
					 authority, or promotional materials;
vii. the individual is an insured or an annuitant under an
					 insurance policy or annuity, respectively, but is not the policyholder or owner
					 of the insurance policy or annuity; or
viii. for the purposes of this regulation, the individual's
					 last known address according to the licensee's records is deemed invalid. An
					 address of record is deemed invalid if mail sent to that address by the
					 licensee has been returned by the postal authorities as undeliverable and if
					 subsequent attempts by the licensee to obtain a current valid address for the
					 individual have been unsuccessful.
Financial Institution
-for the purposes of
					 this regulation means any institution the business of which is engaging in
					 activities that are financial in nature or incidental to such financial
					 activities as described in Section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956
					 (12 U.S.C. 1843(k)). Financial institution does not include:
a. any person or entity with respect to any financial
					 activity that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading
					 Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C.
					 1 et seq
.
);
b. the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation or any
					 entity charged and operating under the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C.
					 2001 et seq
.
); or
c. institutions chartered by Congress specifically to
					 engage in securitizations, secondary market sales (including sales of servicing
					 rights) or similar transactions related to a transaction of a consumer, as long
					 as the institutions do not sell or transfer nonpublic personal information to a
					 nonaffiliated third party.
Financial Product
or
Service
-any product or service that a financial holding
					 company could offer by engaging in an activity that is financial in nature or
					 incidental to such a financial activity under Section 4(k) of the Bank Holding
					 Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1843(k)).
a.
Financial Service
-includes a financial
					 institution's evaluation or brokerage of information that the financial
					 institution collects in connection with a request or an application from a
					 consumer for a financial product or service.
Insurance Product or Service
-any product
					 or service that is offered by a licensee pursuant to the insurance laws of this
					 state.
a.
Insurance Service
-includes a licensee's
					 evaluation, brokerage or distribution of information that the licensee collects
					 in connection with a request or an application from a consumer for an insurance
					 product or service.
Licensee
-all licensed insurers, producers
					 and other persons licensed or required to be licensed, or authorized or
					 required to be authorized, or registered or required to be registered with the
					 Commissioner of Insurance.
a. Producers include persons required to be licensed under
					 the laws of this state to sell, solicit or negotiate insurance, including, but
					 not limited to agents, brokers, solicitors and surplus lines brokers.
b. A licensee is not subject to the notice and opt out
					 requirements for:
i. nonpublic personal financial information set forth in
					 Subchapters A, B, C; and D of this regulation if the licensee is an employee,
					 agent or other representative of another licensee ("the principal") and:
(a). the principal otherwise complies with, and provides
					 the notices required by, the provisions of this regulation; and
(b). the licensee does not disclose any nonpublic personal
					 information to any person other than the principal or its affiliates in a
					 manner permitted by this regulation.
c.
i. Subject to Clause i,
licensee
shall
					 also include an unauthorized insurer that accepts business placed through a
					 licensed surplus lines broker in this state, but only in regard to the surplus
					 lines placements placed pursuant to
					 R.S.
					 22:1248, et seq. of this state's laws.
ii. A surplus lines broker or unauthorized insurer shall be
					 deemed to be in compliance with the notice and opt out requirements for
					 nonpublic personal financial information set forth in Subchapters A, B, C and D
					 of this regulation provided:
(a). the broker or insurer does not disclose nonpublic
					 personal information of a consumer or a customer to nonaffiliated third parties
					 for any purpose, including joint servicing or marketing under
					 §9929 of this regulation, except as
					 permitted by
					 §9931 or
					 §9933 of this regulation; and
(b). the broker or insurer delivers a notice to the
					 consumer at the time a customer relationship is established on which the
					 following is printed in 16-point type:
PRIVACY NOTICE
NEITHER THE U.S. BROKERS THAT HANDLED THIS INSURANCE NOR
					 THE INSURERS THAT HAVE UNDERWRITTEN THIS INSURANCE WILL DISCLOSE NONPUBLIC
					 PERSONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE BUYER TO NONAFFILIATES OF THE BROKERS OR
					 INSURERS EXCEPT AS PERMITTED BY LAW.
Nonaffiliated Third Party
-any person
					 except:
a. a licensee's affiliate; or
b. a person employed jointly by a licensee and any company
					 that is not the licensee's affiliate (but nonaffiliated third party includes
					 the other company that jointly employs the person);
c. nonaffiliated third party includes any company that is
					 an affiliate solely by virtue of the direct or indirect ownership or control of
					 the company by the licensee or its affiliate in conducting merchant banking or
					 investment banking activities of the type described in Section 4(k)(4)(H) or
					 insurance company investment activities of the type described in Section
					 4(k)(4)(I) of the federal Bank Holding Company Act (12
					 U.S.C. 1843(k)(4)(H) and
					 (I)).
Nonpublic Personal Financial
					 Information
-
a. personally identifiable financial information;
					 and
b. any list, description or other grouping of consumers
					 (and publicly available information pertaining to them) that is derived using
					 any personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly
					 available;
c. nonpublic personal financial information does not
					 include:
i. health information;
ii. publicly available information, except as included on a
					 list described in Paragraph b of this Section; or
iii. any list, description or other grouping of consumers
					 (and publicly available information pertaining to them) that is derived without
					 using any personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly
					 available;
d. examples of lists:
i. nonpublic personal financial information includes any
					 list of individuals' names and street addresses that is derived in whole or in
					 part using personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly
					 available, such as account numbers;
ii. nonpublic personal financial information does not
					 include any list of individuals' names and addresses that contains only
					 publicly available information, is not derived in whole or in part using
					 personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly available,
					 and is not disclosed in a manner that indicates that any of the individuals on
					 the list is a consumer of a financial institution.
Nonpublic Personal Information
-nonpublic
					 personal financial information.
Opt Out
-
a. any direction by the consumer that the licensee not
					 disclose nonpublic personal financial information about the consumer to a non
					 affiliated third party, other than as permitted by §§9929, 9931,and
					 9933.
Personally Identifiable Financial
					 Information
-any information:
a. a consumer provides to a licensee to obtain an insurance
					 product or service from the licensee;
b. about a consumer resulting from a transaction involving
					 an insurance product or service between a licensee and a consumer; or
c. the licensee otherwise obtains about a consumer in
					 connection with providing an insurance product or service to that
					 consumer;
d. examples:
i. information included. Personally identifiable financial
					 information includes:
(a). information a consumer provides to a licensee on an
					 application to obtain an insurance product or service;
(b). account balance information and payment
					 history;
(c). the fact that an individual is or has been one of the
					 licensee's customers or has obtained an insurance product or service from the
					 licensee;
(d). any information about the licensee's consumer if it is
					 disclosed in a manner that indicates that the individual is or has been the
					 licensee's consumer;
(e). any information that a consumer provides to a licensee
					 or that the licensee or its agent otherwise obtains in connection with
					 collecting on a loan or servicing a loan;
(f). any information the licensee collects through an
					 Internet cookie (an information-collecting device from a web server);
					 and
(g) information from a consumer report;
ii. information not included. Personally identifiable
					 financial information does not include:
(a). health information;
(b). a list of names and addresses of customers of an
					 entity that is not a financial institution; and
(c). information that does not identify a consumer, such as
					 aggregate information or blind data that does not contain personal identifiers
					 such as account numbers, names or addresses.
Publicly Available Information
-any
					 information that a licensee has a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made
					 available to the general public from:
a. federal, state or local government records;
b. widely distributed media; or
c. disclosures to the general public that are required to
					 be made by federal, state or local law;
d. reasonable basis. A licensee has a reasonable basis to
					 believe that information is lawfully made available to the general public if
					 the licensee has taken steps to determine:
i. that the information is of the type that is available to
					 the general public; and
ii. whether an individual can direct that the information
					 not be made available to the general public and, if so, that the licensee's
					 consumer has not done so;
e. examples:
i. government records. Publicly available information in
					 government records includes information in government real estate records and
					 security interest filings;
ii. widely distributed media. Publicly available
					 information from widely distributed media includes information from a telephone
					 book, a television or radio program, a newspaper or a web site that is
					 available to the general public on an unrestricted basis. A web site is not
					 restricted merely because an Internet service provider or a site operator
					 requires a fee or a password, so long as access is available to the general
					 public;
f. reasonable basis:
i. a licensee has a reasonable basis to believe that
					 mortgage information is lawfully made available to the general public if the
					 licensee has determined that the information is of the type included on the
					 public record in the jurisdiction where the mortgage would be recorded;
ii. a licensee has a reasonable basis to believe that an
					 individual's telephone number is lawfully made available to the general public
					 if the licensee has located the telephone number in the telephone book or the
					 consumer has informed you that the telephone number is not unlisted.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
					 Promulgated in accordance with
					 R.S.
					 22:2,
					 22:3,
					 22:3052,
					 22:3053,
					 22:3054
					 and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act,
					 Public Law
					 106-102 Nov. 12,
					 1999.