Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 230 - Department of Business Regulation › Chapter 20 - Insurance › Subchapter 60 - Miscellaneous › Part 7 - Privacy of Consumer Information (formerly Insurance Regulation 99) (230-RICR-20-60-7) › Section 230-RICR-20-60-7.4 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. As used in this Part, unless the context
				  requires otherwise:
1. "Affiliate" means a
				  company that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with another
				  company.
2. "Clear and conspicuous"
				  means 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:
(1) presents the information in the notice in
				  clear, concise sentences, paragraphs and sections;
(2) uses short explanatory sentences or
				  bullet lists whenever possible;
(3)
				  uses definite, concrete, everyday words and active voice whenever
				  possible;
(4) avoids multiple
				  negatives;
(5) avoids legal and
				  highly technical business terminology whenever possible; and
(6) 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:
(1) uses a
				  plain-language heading to call attention to the notice;
(2) uses a typeface and type size that are
				  easy to read;
(3) provides wide
				  margins and ample line spacing;
(4)
				  uses boldface or italics for key words; and
(5) 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:
(1)
				  places the notice on a screen that consumers frequently access, such as a page
				  on which transactions are conducted; or
(2) 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.
3. "Collect" means 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.
4. "Company" means a corporation, limited
				  liability company, business trust, general or limited partnership, association,
				  sole proprietorship or similar organization.
5. "Consumer" means 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 financial
				  information, or that individual's legal representative. Examples:
a. An individual who provides nonpublic
				  personal financial 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:
(1)
				  the individual is a beneficiary of a life insurance policy underwritten by the
				  licensee;
(2) the individual is a
				  claimant under an insurance policy issued by the licensee;
(3) the individual is an insured or an
				  annuitant under an insurance policy or an annuity, respectively, issued by the
				  licensee; or
(4) the individual is
				  a mortgagor of a mortgage covered under a mortgage insurance policy;
				  and
(5) the licensee discloses
				  nonpublic personal financial information about the individual to a
				  nonaffiliated third party other than as permitted under §§
													7.14,  7.15  and  7.16   of this Part.
e. Provided that the licensee provides the
				  initial, annual and revised notices under §§
												7.5,  7.6  and  7.9   of this
				  Part 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
				  §§
												7.14,  7.15  and  7.16   of this Part, an individual is not the consumer
				  of the licensee solely because he or she is:
(1) 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;
(2) covered under a group or blanket
				  insurance policy or group annuity contract issued by the licensee; or
(3) a beneficiary in a workers' compensation
				  plan.
f. The individuals
				  described in §§
												7.4(A)(5)(e)   ((1)) through ((3)) of this Part above
				  are consumers of a licensee if the licensee does not meet all the conditions of
				  §
												7.4(A)(5)(e)   of this Part.
(1) In no
				  event shall the individuals, solely by virtue of the status described in
				  §§
													7.4(A)(5)(e)   ((1)) through ((3)) of this Part above, be deemed to
				  be customers for purposes of this Part.
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.
6.
				  "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)).
7. "Control" means:
a. ownership, control or power to vote
				  twenty-five percent (25%) 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 Director determines.
8. "Customer" means a consumer who has a
				  customer relationship with a licensee.
9. "Customer relationship" means 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:
(1) The consumer is a
				  current policyholder of an insurance product issued by or through the licensee;
				  or
(2) The consumer 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:
(1) the
				  consumer applies for insurance but does not purchase the insurance;
(2) the licensee sells the consumer travel
				  insurance in an isolated transaction;
(3) the individual is no longer a current
				  policyholder of an insurance product or no longer obtains insurance services
				  with or through the licensee;
(4)
				  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;
(5)
				  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;
(6) 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 twelve (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;
(7) 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
(8) for the purposes of this Part, 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.
10. "Director" means the Director of the
				  Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation or his or her
				  designee.
11. "Financial
				  institution" 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.
12. "Financial product or service" means a
				  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.
13. "Health care" means:
a. Preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic,
				  rehabilitative, maintenance or palliative care, services, procedures, tests or
				  counseling that:
(1) Relates to the physical,
				  mental or behavioral condition of an individual; or
(2) Affects the structure or function of the
				  human body or any part of the human body, including the banking of blood,
				  sperm, organs or any other tissue; or
b. Prescribing, dispensing or furnishing to
				  an individual drugs or biologicals, or medical devices or health care equipment
				  and supplies.
14.
				  "Health care provider" means a physician or other health care practitioner
				  licensed, accredited or certified to perform specified health services
				  consistent with state law, or a health care facility.
15. "Health information" means any
				  information or data except age or gender, whether oral or recorded in any form
				  or medium, created by or derived from a health care provider or the consumer
				  that relates to:
a. The past, present or
				  future physical, mental or behavioral health or condition of an
				  individual;
b. The provision of
				  health care to an individual; or
c.
				  Payment for the provision of health care to an individual.
16. "Insurance product or service" means 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.
17. "Licensee" means 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
				  pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws Title 27.
a. A
				  licensee is not subject to the notice and opt out requirements for nonpublic
				  personal financial information of this Part if the licensee is an employee,
				  agent or other representative of another licensee ("the principal") and:
(1) the principal otherwise complies with,
				  and provides the notices required by, the provisions of this Part;
				  and
(2) 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 Part.
b. Subject to §
												7.4(A)(17)(c)
				    of this Part below, "licensee" shall also include an approved surplus 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.I. Gen. Laws §§
												27-3-38 through
				  27-3-42.
c. A surplus lines broker or insurer shall be
				  deemed to be in compliance with the notice and opt out requirements for
				  nonpublic personal financial information of this Part provided:
(1) The broker or insurer does not disclose
				  nonpublic personal financial information of a consumer or a customer to
				  nonaffiliated third parties for any purpose, including joint servicing or
				  marketing under §
													7.14   of this Part, except as permitted by
				  §§
													7.15  or  7.16   of this Part; and
(2) 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 financial information concerning the buyer to nonaffiliates
								of the brokers or insurers except as permitted by law".
18. "Nonaffiliated third party" means 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).)
19. "Nonpublic personal information" means
				  nonpublic personal financial information and nonpublic personal health
				  information.
20. "Nonpublic
				  personal financial information" means:
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:
(1) health
				  information;
(2) publicly available
				  information, except as included on a list described in §
													7.4(A)(20)(b)   of
				  this Part above; or
(3) 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. Examples of lists:
(AA) 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.
(BB) 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.
21. "Nonpublic personal
				  health information" means health information:
a. That identifies an individual who is the
				  subject of the information; or
b.
				  With respect to which there is a reasonable basis to believe that the
				  information could be used to identify an individual.
22. "Personally identifiable financial
				  information" means 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. Personally identifiable
				  financial information includes:
(1)
				  information a consumer provides to a licensee on an application to obtain an
				  insurance product or service;
(2)
				  account balance information and payment history;
(3) 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;
(4) 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;
(5) 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;
(6) any information the licensee collects
				  through an Internet cookie (an information-collecting device from a web
				  server); and
(7) information from a
				  consumer report.
d.
				  Information not included. Personally identifiable financial information does
				  not include:
(1) health
				  information;
(2) a list of names
				  and addresses of customers of an entity that is not a financial institution;
				  and
(3) 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.
23. "Publicly available information" means
				  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:
(1) that the information is of the type that
				  is available to the general public; and
(2) 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. Examples:
(AA) Government records. Publicly available
				  information in government records includes information in government real
				  estate records and security interest filings.
(BB) 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.
(CC) 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.
(DD) 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.