(215 ILCS 5/131.22) (from Ch. 73, par. 743.22)
Sec. 131.22. Confidential treatment.
(a) Documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the Department that are obtained by or disclosed to the Director or any other person in the course of an examination or investigation made pursuant to this Article and all information reported pursuant to this Article shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action. However, the Director is authorized to use the documents, materials, or other information in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as a part of the Director's official duties. The Director shall not otherwise make the documents, materials, or other information public without the prior written consent of the company to which it pertains unless the Director, after giving the company and its affiliates who would be affected thereby prior written notice and an opportunity to be heard, determines that the interest of policyholders, shareholders, or the public shall be served by the publication thereof, in which event the Director may publish all or any part in such manner as may be deemed appropriate.
(b) Neither the Director nor any person who received documents, materials, or other information while acting under the authority of the Director or with whom such documents, materials, or other information are shared pursuant to this Article shall be permitted or required to testify in any private civil action concerning any confidential documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (a) of this Section.
(c) In order to assist in the performance of the Director's duties, the Director:
(1) may share documents, materials, or other
information, including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (a) of this Section, with other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, with the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and with state, federal, and international law enforcement authorities, including members of any supervisory college allowed by this Article, provided that the recipient agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information, and has verified in writing the legal authority to maintain confidentiality;
(1.5) notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this
subsection (c), may only share confidential and privileged documents, material, or information reported pursuant to Section 131.14b with commissioners of states having statutes or regulations substantially similar to subsection (a) of this Section and who have agreed in writing not to disclose such information;
(2) may receive documents, materials, or information,
including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information from the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries and from regulatory and law enforcement officials of other foreign or domestic jurisdictions, and shall maintain as confidential or privileged any document, material, or information received with notice or the understanding that it is confidential or privileged under the laws of the jurisdiction that is the source of the document, material, or information; any such documents, materials, or information, while in the Director's possession, shall not be subject to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and shall not be subject to subpoena; and
(3) shall enter into written agreements with the NAIC
governing sharing and use of information provided pursuant to this Article consistent with this subsection (c) that shall (i) specify procedures and protocols regarding the confidentiality and security of information shared with the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries pursuant to this Article, including procedures and protocols for sharing by the NAIC with other state, federal, or international regulators; (ii) specify that ownership of information shared with the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries pursuant to this Article remains with the Director and the NAIC's use of the information is subject to the direction of the Director; (iii) require prompt notice to be given to a company whose confidential information in the possession of the NAIC pursuant to this Article is subject to a request or subpoena to the NAIC for disclosure or production; and (iv) require the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries to consent to intervention by a company in any judicial or administrative action in which the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries may be required to disclose confidential information about the company shared with the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries pursuant to this Article.
(d) The sharing of documents, materials, or information by the Director pursuant to this Article shall not constitute a delegation of regulatory authority or rulemaking, and the Director is solely responsible for the administration, execution, and enforcement of the provisions of this Article.
(e) No waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents, materials, or information shall occur as a result of disclosure to the Director under this Section or as a result of sharing as authorized in subsection (c) of this Section.
(f) Documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the NAIC pursuant to this Article shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action.
(Source: P.A. 98-609, eff. 1-1-14.)
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Last modified: February 18, 2015