South Carolina § 38-9-230 - Confidentiality.

§ 38-9-230. Confidentiality.

(A) The Statement of Actuarial Opinion must be provided with the Annual Statement in accordance with the appropriate NAIC Property and Casualty Annual Statement Instructions and must be treated as a public document.

(B)(1) Documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the department that are considered an Actuarial Report, workpapers, or Actuarial Opinion Summary provided in support of the opinion, and any other material provided by the company to the director or his designee in connection with the Actuarial Report, workpapers, or Actuarial Opinion Summary, are confidential by law and privileged, are exempt from disclosure under applicable law, are not subject to subpoena, and are not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action.

(2) This provision may not be construed to limit the director or his designee's authority to release the documents to the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline so long as the material is required for the purpose of professional disciplinary proceedings and that the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline establishes procedures satisfactory to the director or his designee for preserving the confidentiality of the documents, nor may this section be construed to limit the director or his designee's authority to use the documents, materials, or other information in furtherance of a regulatory or legal action brought as part of the director or his designee's official duties.

(C) Neither the director nor a person who received documents, materials, or other information while acting under the authority of the director is permitted or required to testify in a private civil action concerning confidential documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (B).

(D) In order to assist in the performance of the director's duties, the director may:

(1) share documents, materials, or other information, including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (B) with other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and with state, federal, and international law enforcement authorities, provided that the recipient agrees to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information and has the legal authority to maintain confidentiality;

(2) 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, 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; and

(3) enter into agreements governing sharing and use of information consistent with subsections (B), (C), and (D).

(E) A waiver of an applicable privilege or a claim of confidentiality in the documents, materials, or information shall not occur as a result of disclosure to the director under this section or as a result of sharing as authorized in subsection (D).

HISTORY: 2009 Act No. 27, SECTION 1, eff June 2, 2009.

Editor's Note

2014 Act No. 164, SECTION 15, effective January 1, 2015, provides as follows:

"SECTION 15. (A) Article 3, Chapter 9, Title 38, designated 'Risk Based Capital' is redesignated 'Risk-Based Capital'.

"(B) Sections 38-9-400, 38-9-410, 38-9-420, 38-9-430, 38-9-440, 38-9-450, and 38-9-460 of the 1976 Code, which are designated as Article 5, Chapter 9, Title 38, are redesignated as part of Article 3, Chapter 9, Title 38, and Article 5, Chapter 9, Title 38 is deleted."