(a) Every admitted property and casualty insurer, unless otherwise exempted by the domiciliary commissioner, shall annually submit the opinion of an Appointed Actuary entitled “Statement of Actuarial Opinion.” This opinion shall be filed in accordance with the appropriate Property and Casualty Annual Statement Instructions of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

(1) For purposes of this section, the term, “property and casualty insurer” means any admitted insurer writing insurance as described in Section 102, 103, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 119.6, 120, 124, or 124.5.

(2) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the same meaning as used in the Property and Casualty Annual Statement Instructions of the NAIC:

(A) Actuarial Opinion.

(B) Actuarial Opinion Summary.

(C) Actuarial Report.

(D) Appointed Actuary.

(E) Statement of Actuarial Opinion.

(F) Property and Casualty Annual Statement Instructions.

(3) The commissioner may adopt regulations related to the terms and conditions required by the Property and Casualty Annual Statement Instructions of the NAIC.

(b) Every property and casualty insurer domiciled in this state that is required to submit a Statement of Actuarial Opinion shall annually submit an Actuarial Opinion Summary, written by the insurer’s Appointed Actuary. This Actuarial Opinion Summary shall be filed in accordance with the appropriate Property and Casualty Annual Statement Instructions of the NAIC and shall be considered as a document supporting the Actuarial Opinion required in subdivision (a).

(c) An admitted insurer not domiciled in this state shall provide the Actuarial Opinion Summary upon request of the commissioner.

(d) An Actuarial Report and underlying workpapers as required by the appropriate Property and Casualty Annual Statement Instructions of the NAIC shall be prepared to support each Actuarial Opinion. If an insurer fails to provide either a supporting Actuarial Report or workpapers at the request of the commissioner, or if the commissioner determines that the supporting Actuarial Report or workpapers provided by the insurer are otherwise unacceptable to the commissioner, the commissioner may engage a qualified actuary at the expense of the insurer to review the opinion and the basis for the opinion and prepare the supporting Actuarial Report or workpapers.

(e) Notwithstanding § 7929.000 of the Government Code, subdivision (f), or any other provision of law, the Statement of Actuarial Opinion required by subdivision (a) shall be a public record and open to inspection.

(f) (1) Documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the commissioner that are considered an Actuarial Report, workpapers, or Actuarial Opinion Summary provided in support of the Statement of Actuarial Opinion, and any other material provided by the insurer to the commissioner in connection with the Actuarial Report, workpapers, or Actuarial Opinion Summary shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be made public by the commissioner or any other person and are exempt from the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any civil action brought by a private party.

(2) This subdivision shall not limit the commissioner’s authority to release the documents, materials, and other information described in paragraph (1) to the American Academy of Actuaries’ Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD), or its successor, so long as those documents, materials, and other information are required for the purpose of professional disciplinary proceedings, and the ABCD establishes procedures satisfactory to the commissioner for preserving the confidentiality of the documents, nor shall this subdivision limit the commissioner’s authority to use those documents, materials, or other information in furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as part of the commissioner’s official duties.

(3) The commissioner may also exercise, with respect to the documents, materials, or other information described in paragraph (1), all the authority specified in subdivision (b) of Section 735.5, or any successor provision.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 299. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)