Sec. 15. (a) All working papers, recorded information, documents, and copies thereof produced by, obtained by, or disclosed to the commissioner or any other person in the course of an examination under this chapter (including trade secrets and information obtained from a federal agency, a foreign country, or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or under another state law):

(1) are confidential and privileged;

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Terms Used In Indiana Code 27-1-3.1-15

  • commissioner: refers to the insurance commissioner appointed under IC 27-1-1-2. See Indiana Code 27-1-3.1-1
  • company: means any person engaging in or proposing or attempting to engage in any transaction or kind of insurance or surety business and any person or group of persons who may otherwise be subject to the administrative, regulatory, or taxing authority of the commissioner. See Indiana Code 27-1-3.1-2
  • 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.
  • in writing: include printing, lithographing, or other mode of representing words and letters. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Insurance: means a contract of insurance or an agreement by which one (1) party, for a consideration, promises to pay money or its equivalent or to do an act valuable to the insured upon the destruction, loss or injury of something in which the other party has a pecuniary interest, or in consideration of a price paid, adequate to the risk, becomes security to the other against loss by certain specified risks; to grant indemnity or security against loss for a consideration. See Indiana Code 27-1-2-3
  • person: means any individual, aggregation of individuals, trust, association, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, or any affiliate of these entities. See Indiana Code 27-1-3.1-7
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(2) are not subject to public inspection or copying under IC 5-14-3-3;

(3) are not subject to subpoena;

(4) are not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in a private civil action; and

(5) may not be made public by the commissioner or any other person, except to the extent provided in section 14 of this chapter.

     (b) The commissioner may use the materials and information described in subsection (a) in relation to a regulatory or legal action brought as part of the commissioner’s duties. Access to the materials and information described in subsection (a) may also be granted to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. A party receiving materials or information under this subsection must agree in writing prior to receiving the materials or information to provide to it the same confidential treatment as required by this section, unless the prior written consent of the company to which it pertains has been obtained.

     (c) A court order requiring a release or production of materials or information described in subsection (a) that is not authorized under this section is null and void unless the commissioner has been served, in accordance with the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure, with a pleading or motion requesting the court to order release or production of the materials or information.

As added by P.L.26-1991, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.11-2011, SEC.5; P.L.276-2013, SEC.1.

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