(a)

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Terms Used In Alabama Code 27-29-7

  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • writing: includes typewriting and printing on paper. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(1) All documents, materials, or other information, and copies thereof, 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 27-29-6 and all information reported pursuant to paragraphs l. and m. of subdivision (l) of subsection (b) of Section 27-29-3, Section 27-29-4, Section 27-29-5, and Section 27-29-6.2 are recognized by this state as being proprietary and containing trade secrets, and shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject to any open records, freedom of information, sunshine or other public record disclosure laws, and shall not be subject to subpoena. The commissioner may use the documents, materials, and other information in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action in the course of the commissioner’s official duties. The documents, materials, and other information shall not be made public by the commissioner or any other person without the prior written consent of the insurer to which it pertains unless the commissioner 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. Prior to making this determination, the commissioner shall give the insurer and its affiliates who would be affected thereby no less than 10 days’ written notice of the opportunity to request a hearing on the matter.
(2) For purposes of the information reported and provided to the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (l) of Section 27-29-4, 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. group-wide supervisor.
(3) For purposes of the information reported and provided to the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (l) of Section 27-29-4, 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 any non-U.S. group-wide 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).
(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), including proprietary and trade secret documents and materials, with other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, with the [ NAIC, with any third-party consultants designated by the commissioner to perform examination or actuarial functions, [ and with state, federal, and international law enforcement authorities, including members of any supervisory college described in Section 27-29-6.1, 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) above, may share confidential and privileged documents, material, or information reported pursuant to subsection (l) of Section 27-29-4 only with commissioners of states having statutes or regulations substantially similar to subsection (a) 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 to perform examination or actuarial functions governing sharing and use of information provided pursuant to 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 chapter, 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 the confidentiality.
b. Specify that ownership of information shared with the [ NAIC or a third-party consultant and its affiliates and subsidiaries pursuant to this chapter remains with the commissioner and the use of the information by the [ NAIC or a third-party consultant as designated by the commissioner to perform examination or actuarial functions is subject to the direction of the commissioner.
c. Require at least 10 days’ notice to be given to an insurer whose confidential information in the possession of the [ NAIC or a third-party consultant designated by the commissioner pursuant to this chapter is subject to a request or subpoena to the [ NAIC or a third-party consultant designated by the commissioner for disclosure or production.
d. Require the [ NAIC or a third-party consultant designated by the commissioner to perform examination or actuarial functions to consent to intervention by an insurer in any judicial or administrative action in which the [ NAIC or a third-party consultant designated by the commissioner may be required to disclose confidential information about the insurer shared with the [ NAIC or a third-party consultant designated by the commissioner pursuant to this chapter.
e. Excluding documents, materials, or other information reported pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (l) of Section 27-29-4, prohibit the NAIC or a third-party consultant designated by the commissioner to perform examination or actuarial functions from storing the information shared pursuant to this chapter in a permanent database after the underlying analysis is completed.
f. For documents, materials, or other information reported pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (1) of Section 27-29-4, 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 chapter shall not constitute a delegation of regulatory authority or rulemaking, and the commissioner is solely responsible for the administration, execution, and enforcement of this chapter.
(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).
(f) Documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the [ NAIC or a third-party consultant designated by the commissioner pursuant to this chapter shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject to open records, freedom of information, sunshine or other public records disclosure laws, shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action.
(g) The group capital calculation and resulting group capital ratio required under subdivision (2) of subsection (1) of Section 27-29-4 and the liquidity stress test along with its results and supporting disclosures required under subdivision (3) of subsection (1) of Section 27-29-4 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 result, 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; provided, however, that 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.
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