Michigan Laws 500.563 – Confidentiality; use of documents, materials, or other information; duties of director
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 500.563
- Department: means the department of insurance and financial services. See Michigan Laws 500.102
- Director: means , unless the context clearly implies a different meaning, the director of the department. See Michigan Laws 500.102
- 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.
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
- 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.
- Licensee: means a licensed insurer or producer, and other persons licensed or required to be licensed, authorized, or registered, or holding or required to hold a certificate of authority under this act. See Michigan Laws 500.553
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals. See Michigan Laws 8.3l
- 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 belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
(1) Any documents, materials, or other information in the control or possession of the department that is furnished by a licensee or an employee or agent of the licensee acting on behalf of the licensee under section 555(9), section 559(2)(b), (c), (d), (e), (h), (i), and (j), or that is obtained by the director in an investigation or examination by the director is confidential by law and privileged, is not subject to the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246, is not subject to subpoena, and is not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action. However, the director 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 director’s duties. The director shall not otherwise make the documents, materials, or other information public.
(2) Neither the director nor any person that received documents, materials, or other information while acting under the authority of the director is permitted or required to testify in any private civil action concerning any confidential documents, materials, or information under subsection (1).
(3) To assist in the performance of the director’s duties under this chapter, the director may do any of the following:
(a) Share documents, materials, or other information, including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (1), with other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, its affiliates, or its subsidiaries, and with state, federal, and international law enforcement authorities, if the recipient agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information.
(b) Receive documents, materials, or information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information, from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, its affiliates, or its 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.
(c) Share documents, materials, or other information subject to subsection (1) with a third-party consultant or vendor if the consultant agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information.
(d) Enter into agreements governing sharing and use of information consistent with this subsection.
(4) A waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents, materials, or information does not occur as a result of disclosure to the director under this section or as a result of sharing as authorized under subsection (3).
(5) This chapter does not prohibit the director from releasing final, adjudicated actions that are open to public inspection pursuant to the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246, to a database or other clearinghouse service maintained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, its affiliates, or its subsidiaries.
(6) Any documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or a third-party consultant or vendor under this chapter is confidential by law and privileged, is not subject to the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246, is not subject to subpoena, and is not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action.