AN ACT CONCERNING THE INSURANCE DEPARTMENT'S MARKET CONDUCT AUTHORITY.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 38a-15 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):

(a) The commissioner shall, as often as the commissioner deems it expedient, undertake a market conduct examination of the affairs of any insurance company, health care center, third-party administrator, as defined in section 38a-720, or fraternal benefit society doing business in this state. Any such examination shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures and definitions set forth in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Market Regulation Handbook.

(b) To carry out the examinations under this section, the commissioner may appoint, as market conduct examiners, one or more competent persons, who shall not be officers of, or connected with or interested in, any insurance company, health care center, third-party administrator or fraternal benefit society, other than as a policyholder. In conducting the examination, the commissioner, the commissioner's actuary or any examiner authorized by the commissioner may examine, under oath, the officers and agents of such insurance company, health care center, third-party administrator or fraternal benefit society and all persons deemed to have material information regarding the company's, center's, administrator's or society's property or business. Each such company, center, administrator or society, its officers and agents, shall produce the books and papers, in its or their possession, relating to its business or affairs, and any other person may be required to produce any book or paper in such person's custody, deemed to be relevant to the examination, for the inspection of the commissioner, the commissioner's actuary or examiners, when required. The officers and agents of the company, center, administrator or society shall facilitate the examination and aid the examiners in making the same so far as it is in their power to do so.

(c) Each market conduct examiner shall make a full and true report of each market conduct examination made by such examiner, which shall comprise only facts appearing upon the books, papers, records or documents of the examined company, center, administrator or society or ascertained from the sworn testimony of its officers or agents or of other persons examined under oath concerning its affairs. The examiner's report shall be presumptive evidence of the facts therein stated in any action or proceeding in the name of the state against the company, center, administrator or society, its officers or agents. The commissioner shall grant a hearing to the company, center, administrator or society examined before filing any such report and may withhold any such report from public inspection for such time as the commissioner deems proper. The commissioner may, if the commissioner deems it in the public interest, publish any such report, or the result of any such examination contained therein, in one or more newspapers of the state.

(d) All the expense of any examination made under the authority of this section, other than examinations of domestic insurance companies and domestic health care centers, shall be paid by the company, center, administrator or society examined, and domestic insurance companies and other domestic entities examined outside the state shall pay the traveling and maintenance expenses of examiners.

(e) (1) No cause of action shall arise nor shall any liability be imposed against the commissioner, the commissioner's authorized representative or any examiner appointed or engaged by the commissioner for any statements made or conduct performed in good faith while carrying out the provisions of this section.

(2) No cause of action shall arise nor shall any liability be imposed against any person for the act of communicating or delivering information or data pursuant to an examination made under the authority of this section to the commissioner, the commissioner's authorized representative or an examiner if such communication or delivery was performed in good faith and without fraudulent intent or the intent to deceive.

(3) This subsection shall not abrogate or modify any common law or statutory privilege or immunity heretofore enjoyed by any person identified in subdivision (1) of this subsection.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent or prohibit the commissioner from disclosing at any time the content or results of an examination report or a preliminary examination report or any matter relating thereto, to (1) the insurance regulatory officials of this state or any other state or country, (2) law enforcement officials of this or any other state, or (3) any agency of this or any other state or of the federal government, provided such officials or agency receiving the report or matters relating thereto agrees, in writing, to hold such report or matters confidential.

(g) All workpapers, recorded information, documents and copies thereof produced by, obtained by or disclosed to the commissioner or any other person in the course of an examination made under the authority of this section shall be confidential and privileged, shall not be subject to disclosure under section 1-210, shall not be subject to subpoena, shall not be subject to discovery and shall not be made public by the commissioner or any other person except to the extent provided in subsection (f) of this section. The commissioner may grant access to such workpapers, recorded information, documents and copies to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as long as it agrees, in writing, to hold such workpapers, recorded information, documents and copies confidential.

Statement of Purpose:

To specify the governing procedures and definitions for market conduct examinations conducted by the Insurance Department, and to establish immunity for persons conducting such examinations and the confidentiality of examination reports, workpapers and other information obtained or reviewed by said department during such examination.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]