Vermont § 3687 - Confidential treatment

§ 3687. Confidential treatment

• (a) Documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the Department
  that are obtained by or disclosed to the Commissioner or any other person in the course
  of an examination or investigation made pursuant to section 3686 of this title and all information reported pursuant to subdivisions 3683(b)(12) and (13), section
  3684, and section 3685 of this chapter are recognized by this State as being proprietary
  and to contain trade secrets and shall be given confidential treatment, shall not
  be subject to subpoena, shall not be subject to public inspection and copying under
  the Public Records Act, shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence
  in any private civil action, and shall not be made public by the Commissioner or any
  other person. However, the Commissioner 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 Commissioner’s official duties. The Commissioner shall not otherwise
  make the documents, materials, or other information public without the prior written
  consent of the insurer to which it pertains unless the Commissioner, after giving
  the insurer and its affiliates who would be affected thereby notice and opportunity
  to be heard, determines that the interests of policyholders, shareholders, or the
  public will be served by the publication thereof, in which event the Commissioner
  may publish all or any part thereof in such manner as the Commissioner may deem appropriate. (1) For purposes of the information reported and provided to the Department pursuant to
  subdivision 3684(m)(2) of this chapter, the Commissioner shall maintain the confidentiality
  of the group capital calculation and group capital ratio produced within the calculation
  and any group capital information received from an insurance holding company supervised
  by the Federal Reserve Board or any U.S. groupwide supervisor. (2) For purposes of the information reported and provided to the Department pursuant to
  subdivision 3684(m)(3) of this chapter, the Commissioner shall maintain the confidentiality
  of the liquidity stress test results and supporting disclosures and any liquidity
  stress test information received from an insurance holding company supervised by the
  Federal Reserve Board and non-U.S. groupwide supervisors. (b) Neither the Commissioner nor any person who received documents, materials, or other
  information while acting under the authority of the Commissioner or with whom such
  documents, materials, or other information are shared pursuant to this chapter 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 Commissioner’s duties, the Commissioner: (1) May share documents, materials, or other information, including the confidential and
  privileged documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (a) of this
  section, including proprietary and trade secret documents and materials, with other
  state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, with the NAIC, with third-party
  consultants designated by the Commissioner, and with state, federal, and international
  law enforcement authorities, including members of any supervisory college described
  in section 3695 of this title, 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. (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this subsection, may only share confidential and
  privileged documents, material, or information reported pursuant to subdivision 3684(m)(1)
  of this chapter 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. (3) May receive documents, materials, or information, including otherwise confidential
  and privileged documents, materials, or information, including proprietary and trade-secret
  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. (4) Shall enter into written agreements with the NAIC and any third-party consultant designated
  by the Commissioner governing sharing and use of information provided under this chapter
  consistent with this subsection that shall: (A) Specify procedures and protocols regarding the confidentiality and security of information
  shared with the NAIC or a third-party consultant designated by the Commissioner pursuant
  to this subchapter, including procedures and protocols for sharing by the NAIC with
  other state, federal, or international regulators. The agreement shall provide that
  the recipient agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status
  of the documents, materials, or other information and has verified in writing the
  legal authority to maintain such confidentiality. (B) Specify that ownership of information shared with the NAIC or a third-party consultant
  pursuant to this section remains with the Commissioner and the NAIC’s use of the information
  is subject to the direction of the Commissioner. (C) Excluding documents, materials, or information reported pursuant to subdivision 3684(m)(3) of this title, prohibit the NAIC or third-party consultant designated by the Commissioner from
  storing the information shared pursuant to this subchapter in a permanent database
  after the underlying analysis is completed. (D) Require prompt notice be given to an insurer whose confidential information in the
  possession of the NAIC or third-party consultant designated by the Commissioner under
  this subchapter is subject to a request or subpoena to the NAIC or a third-party consultant
  designated by the Commissioner for disclosure or production. (E) Require the NAIC or a third-party consultant designated by the Commissioner to consent
  to intervention by an insurer in any judicial or administrative action in which the
  NAIC or third-party consultant designated by the Commissioner may be required to disclose
  confidential information about the insurer shared with the NAIC or third-party consultant
  designated by the Commissioner pursuant to this section. (F) For documents, materials, or information report pursuant to subdivision 3684(b)(3)
  of this chapter, in the case of an agreement involving a third-party consultant, provide
  for notification of the identity of the consultant to the applicable insurers. (d) The sharing of information by the Commissioner pursuant to this section shall not
  constitute a delegation of regulatory authority or rulemaking, and the Commissioner
  is solely responsible for the administration, execution, and enforcement of the provisions
  of this section. (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 Commissioner
  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
  or third-party consultant designated by the Commissioner pursuant to this subchapter
  shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject to public inspection
  and copying under the Public Records Act, shall not be subject to subpoena, shall
  not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action,
  and shall not be made public by the Commissioner or any other person. (g) The group capital calculation and resulting group capital ratio required under subdivision
  3684(m)(2) of this subchapter and the liquidity stress test along with its results
  and supporting disclosures required under subdivision 3684(m)(3) of this subchapter
  are regulatory tools for assessing group risks and capital adequacy and group liquidity
  risks, respectively, and are not intended as a means to rank insurers or insurance
  holding company systems, generally. Therefore, except as otherwise may be required
  under the provisions of this chapter, the making, publishing, disseminating, circulating
  or placing before the public, or causing directly or indirectly to be made, published,
  disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public in a newspaper, magazine, or
  other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, or poster,
  or over any radio or television station or any electronic means of communication available
  to the public, or in any other way as an advertisement, announcement, or statement
  containing a representation or statement with regard to the group capital calculation,
  group capital ratio, the liquidity stress test results, or supporting disclosures
  for the liquidity stress test of any insurer or any insurer group, or of any component
  derived in the calculation by any insurer, broker, or other person engaged in any
  manner in the insurance business would be misleading and is therefore prohibited.
  However, if any materially false statement with respect to the group capital calculation,
  resulting group capital ratio, an inappropriate comparison of any amount to an insurer’s
  or insurance group’s group capital calculation or resulting group capital ratio, liquidity
  stress test result, supporting disclosures for the liquidity stress test, or an inappropriate
  comparison of any amount to an insurer’s or insurance group’s liquidity stress test
  result or supporting disclosures is published in any written publication and the insurer
  is able to demonstrate to the Commissioner with substantial proof the falsity of such
  statement or the inappropriateness, as the case may be, then the insurer may publish
  announcements in a written publication if the sole purpose of the announcement is
  to rebut the materially false statement. (Added 1971, No. 72, § 2; amended 2013, No. 29, § 33, eff. May 13, 2013; 2023, No. 110 (Adj. Sess.), § 27, eff. July 1, 2024.)