(a) All RBC reports (to the extent the information therein is not required to be set forth in a publicly available annual statement schedule) and RBC plans (including the results or report of any examination or analysis of an insurer performed pursuant hereto and any corrective order issued by the commissioner pursuant to examination or analysis) with respect to any domestic insurer or foreign insurer which are filed with the commissioner constitute information that might be damaging to the insurer if made available to its competitors and therefore shall be kept confidential by the commissioner. This information shall not be made public and/or be subject to subpoena, other than by the commissioner and then only for the purpose of enforcement actions taken by the commissioner pursuant to this article or any other provision of the insurance laws of this state. The information required by this article is specifically exempt from the requirements of chapter twenty-nine-b of this code.

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Terms Used In West Virginia Code 33-40-8

  • Corrective order: means an order issued by the commissioner specifying corrective actions which the commissioner has determined are required. See West Virginia Code 33-40-1
  • Domestic insurer: means any insurance company, farmers&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 33-40-1
  • 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.
  • Foreign insurer: means any insurance company which is licensed to do business in this state under article three of this chapter but is not domiciled in this state. See West Virginia Code 33-40-1
  • Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
  • RBC instructions: means the RBC report, including risk-based capital instructions adopted by the NAIC, as the RBC instructions may be amended by the NAIC, from time to time, in accordance with the procedures adopted by the NAIC. See West Virginia Code 33-40-1
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Total adjusted capital: means the sum of:

    (1) An insurer&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 33-40-1

(b) It is the judgment of the Legislature that the comparison of an insurer's total adjusted capital to any of its RBC levels is a regulatory tool which may indicate the need for possible corrective action with respect to the insurer, and is not intended as a means to rank insurers generally. Therefore, except as otherwise required under the provisions of this article, 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 in any other way, an advertisement, announcement or statement containing an assertion, representation or statement with regard to the RBC levels of any insurer, or of any component derived in the calculation, by any insurer, agent, broker or other person engaged in any manner in the insurance business would be misleading and is therefore prohibited: Provided, That if any materially false statement with respect to the comparison regarding an insurer's total adjusted capital to its RBC levels (or any of them) or an inappropriate comparison of any other amount to the insurers RBC levels 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 an announcement in a written publication if the sole purpose of the announcement is to rebut the materially false statement.

(c) It is the further judgment of the Legislature that the RBC instructions, RBC reports, adjusted RBC reports, RBC plans and revised RBC plans are intended solely for use by the commissioner in monitoring the solvency of insurers and the need for possible corrective action with respect to insurers and shall not be used by the commissioner for ratemaking nor considered or introduced as evidence in any rate proceeding nor used by the commissioner to calculate or derive any elements of an appropriate premium level or rate of return for any line of insurance which an insurer or any affiliate is authorized to write.