North Carolina General Statutes 58-39-35. Content of disclosure authorization forms
Notwithstanding any other provision of law of this State, no insurance institution, agent, or insurance-support organization shall utilize as its disclosure authorization form in connection with insurance transactions involving insurance policies or contracts issued after July 1, 1982, a form or statement that authorizes the disclosure of personal or privileged information about an individual to the insurance institution, agent, or insurance-support organization unless the form or statement:
(1) Complies with the provisions of Article 38 of this Chapter;
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 58-39-35
- Agent: has the meaning as set forth in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 58-39-15
- Individual: means any natural person who:
- Insurance institution: means any corporation, association, partnership, reciprocal exchange, inter-insurer, Lloyd's insurer, fraternal benefit society, or other person engaged in the business of insurance, including health maintenance organizations and medical, surgical, hospital, dental, and optometric service plans, governed by Articles 65 through 67 of this Chapter. See North Carolina General Statutes 58-39-15
- Insurance-support organization: means any person who regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of assembling or collecting information about natural persons for the primary purpose of providing the information to an insurance institution or agent for insurance transactions, including: (i) the furnishing of consumer reports or investigative consumer reports to an insurance institution or agent for use in connection with an insurance transaction; or (ii) the collection of personal information from insurance institutions, agents, or other insurance-support organizations for the purpose of detecting or preventing fraud, material misrepresentation, or material nondisclosure in connection with insurance underwriting or insurance claim activity; provided, however, the following persons shall not be considered "insurance-support organizations" for purposes of this Article: agents, governmental institutions, insurance institutions, medical-care institutions, and medical professionals. See North Carolina General Statutes 58-39-15
- Privileged information: means any individually identifiable information that (i) relates to a claim for insurance benefits or a civil or criminal proceeding involving an individual, and (ii) is collected in connection with or in reasonable anticipation of a claim for insurance benefits or civil or criminal proceeding involving an individual: Provided, however, information otherwise meeting the requirements of this subsection shall nevertheless be considered personal information under this Article if it is disclosed in violation of N. See North Carolina General Statutes 58-39-15
- property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(2) Is dated;
(3) Specifies the types of persons authorized to disclose information about the individual;
(4) Specifies the nature of the information authorized to be disclosed;
(5) Names the insurance institution or agent and identifies by generic reference representatives of the insurance institution to whom the individual is authorizing information to be disclosed;
(6) Specifies the purposes for which the information is collected;
(7) Specifies the length of time such authorization shall remain valid, which shall be no longer than:
a. In the case of authorizations signed for the purpose of collecting information in connection with an application for an insurance policy, a policy reinstatement, or a request for change in policy benefits:
1. Thirty months from the date the authorization is signed if the application or request involves life, health, or disability insurance; or
2. One year from the date the authorization is signed if the application or request involves property or casualty insurance;
b. In the case of authorizations signed for the purpose of collecting information in connection with a claim for benefits under an insurance policy:
1. The term of coverage of the policy if the claim is for a health insurance benefit; or
2. The duration of the claim if the claim is not for a health insurance benefit; and
(8) Advises the individual or a person authorized to act on behalf of the individual that the individual or the individual’s authorized representative is entitled to receive a copy of the authorization form. (1981, c. 846, s. 1; c. 1127, s. 56; 2003-262, s. 2(1).)