(a) For purposes of this section, “confidential information” means:
(1) A memorandum in support of an opinion submitted pursuant to Section 10489.15 and any other documents, materials, and other information, including, but not limited to, all working papers, and copies thereof, created, produced, or obtained by or disclosed to the commissioner or any other person in connection with the memorandum.
(2) All documents, materials, and other information, including, but not limited to, all working papers, and copies thereof, created, produced, or obtained by or disclosed to the commissioner or any other person in the course of an examination made under subdivision (f) of Section 10489.96. However, if an examination report or other material prepared in connection with an examination made under Article 4 (commencing with Section 729) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 1 is not held as private and confidential information under that article, an examination report or other material prepared in connection with an examination made under subdivision (f) of Section 10489.96 shall not be “confidential information” to the same extent as if the examination report or other material had been prepared under Article 4 (commencing with Section 729) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 1.
(3) Any reports, documents, materials, and other information developed by a company in support of, or in connection with, an annual certification by the company under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 10489.97 evaluating the effectiveness of the company’s internal controls with respect to a principle-based valuation and any other documents, materials, and other information, including, but not limited to, all working papers, and copies thereof, created, produced, or obtained by or disclosed to the commissioner or any other person in connection with those reports, documents, materials, and other information.
(4) Any principle-based valuation report developed under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 10489.97 and any other documents, materials, and other information, including, but not limited to, all working papers, and copies thereof, created, produced, or obtained by or disclosed to the commissioner or any other person in connection with the report.
(5) All of the following:
(A) Any documents, materials, data, and other information submitted by a company pursuant to Section 10489.98, to be known collectively, as “experience data.”
(B) Experience data plus any other documents, materials, data, and other information, including, but not limited to, all working papers, and copies thereof, created or produced in connection with the experience data, in each case that includes any potentially company-identifying or personally identifiable information, that is provided to or obtained by the commissioner, to be known, collectively, as “experience materials.”
(C) Any other documents, materials, data, and other information, including, but not limited to, all working papers, and copies thereof, created, produced, or obtained by or disclosed to the commissioner or any other person in connection with the experience materials.
(b) (1) Except as provided in this section, a company’s confidential information shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code), and shall not be subject to subpoena or discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action. However, the commissioner is authorized to use the confidential information in a regulatory or legal action brought against the company as a part of the commissioner’s official duties.
(2) The commissioner, any person who received confidential information while acting under the authority of the commissioner, or any person with whom those documents, materials, or other information are shared pursuant to paragraph (3), shall not be permitted or required to testify in a private civil action concerning any confidential information.
(3) In order to assist in the performance of the commissioner’s duties, the commissioner may share confidential information with the following recipients, provided that the recipient agrees, and has the legal authority to agree, to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the documents, materials, data, and other information in the same manner and to the same extent as required for the commissioner:
(A) Other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies and with the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries.
(B) In the case of confidential information specified in paragraphs (1) and (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 10489.99 only, with the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline or its successor upon request stating that the confidential information is required for the purpose of professional disciplinary proceedings and with state, federal, and international law enforcement officials.
(4) The commissioner may receive documents, materials, data, and other information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, data, or information, from the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries, from regulatory or law enforcement officials of other foreign or domestic jurisdictions, and from the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline or its successor and shall maintain as confidential or privileged any document, material, data, or other 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 other information.
(5) The commissioner may enter into agreements governing sharing and use of information consistent with this subdivision.
(6) A waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the information shall not occur as a result of disclosure to the commissioner under this section or as a result of sharing as authorized in paragraph (3).
(7) A privilege established under the law of any state or jurisdiction that is substantially similar to the privilege established under this subdivision shall be available and enforced in any proceeding in, and in any court of, this state.
(8) For purposes of this section, “regulatory agency,” “law enforcement agency,” and the “NAIC” include, but are not limited to, their employees, agents, consultants, and contractors.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), any confidential information specified in paragraphs (1) and (4) of subdivision (a):
(1) May be subject to subpoena for the purpose of defending an action seeking damages from the appointed actuary submitting the related memorandum in support of an opinion submitted under Section 10489.15 or principle-based valuation report developed under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 10489.97 by reason of an action required by this article or by regulations promulgated pursuant to this article.
(2) May otherwise be released by the commissioner with the written consent of the company.
(3) Once any portion of a memorandum in support of an opinion submitted under Section 10489.15 or a principle-based valuation report developed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 10489.97 is cited by the company in its marketing or is publicly volunteered to or before a governmental agency other than a state insurance department or is released by the company to the news media, all portions of the memorandum or report shall no longer be confidential.
(d) This section shall not be construed to limit the right of access to, or prohibit the admissibility as evidence in a private civil action of, any information, documents, data, or other materials not held for the purposes of this article by the commissioner or a person acting under the authority of the commissioner, including nondepartment actuaries and other consultants hired to implement this article, or a person with whom the commissioner has shared confidential information pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 86, Sec. 211. (SB 1171) Effective January 1, 2017.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018