(a) Any documents, materials, or other information in the control or possession of the department that is furnished by an insurer, producer, or an employee or agent thereof acting on behalf of the insurer or producer, or obtained by the commissioner in an investigation pursuant to Section 27-7-30, shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject to any open records or freedom of information laws, shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action. 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 duties.
Terms Used In Alabama Code 27-7-30.3
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.
(b) Neither the commissioner nor any person who received documents, materials, or other information while acting under the authority of the commissioner shall be permitted or required to testify in any private civil action concerning any confidential documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (a).(c) With the exception of those documents created by or at the request of a company specifically in connection with the investigation of a producer pursuant to subsections (e) to (h), inclusive, of Section 27-7-30, the confidentiality and privileges extended to the documents pursuant to subsection (a) above do not apply to documents, materials, or other information in the control or possession of an insurer, producer, or an employee or agent thereof, acting on behalf of an insurer or producer. Copies of all documents, materials, and information furnished to the department by an insurer, producer, or an employee or agent on behalf of an insurer or producer, shall be retained in their ordinary and customary location by the insurer or producer for the period provided by law.(d) In order to assist in the performance of the commissioner’s duties under this chapter, the commissioner may do any of the following:
(1) Share documents, materials, or other information, including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (a), with other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, with the NAIC, its affiliates or subsidiaries, and with state, federal, and international law enforcement authorities, provided that the recipient agrees to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information.(2) Receive documents, materials, or information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information, from the NAIC, its affiliates or 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.(3) Enter into agreements governing sharing and use of information consistent with 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).(f) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the commissioner from releasing final, adjudicated actions including for cause terminations that are open to public inspection to a database or other clearinghouse service maintained by the NAIC, its affiliates, or subsidiaries of the NAIC.
