§ 20-158 — Report of examinations by director; information sharing

Arizona § 20-158

• Jurisdiction: Arizona
• Title 20: Arizona Revised Statutes
• Ch. 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
• Art. 2: Administrative Officers and Procedures

Text

A. The director shall make a full written report of each examination. The director or the examiner in charge of the examination shall certify the report.

B. The director shall provide a copy of the report to the person examined not less than ten days before filing the report. If the person makes a request in writing within the ten-day period, the director shall consider any objections the person may have to the proposed report and shall not file the report until after making any amendments the director deems proper.

C. The report, when filed, is admissible in evidence in any action or proceeding brought by the director against the person examined, or its officers or agents. The director or the director's examiners may at any time testify and offer other proper evidence as to information secured during the course of an examination, whether or not a written report of the examination has at that time been either made, served or filed in the director's office.

D. The director may withhold from public inspection any examination or investigation report for as long as the director deems prudent.

E. The director may disclose the nonpublic content of a report of examination, a preliminary report or any other matter relating to a report to the insurance department of any other state or jurisdiction, to law enforcement officials of this or any other state or jurisdiction or to an agency of the federal government if the agency or official receiving the report or information agrees in writing to hold the information confidential.

F. Except as provided in this subsection and subsections E and I of this section, documents, materials or other information, including all working papers and copies thereof, created, produced or obtained by or disclosed to the director or the director's deputies, assistants or examiners in the course of an examination or in the course of analysis of the financial condition or market conduct of an insurer are confidential and privileged, are not subject to title 39, chapter 1, article 2, are not subject to subpoena and are not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in a private civil action. The director may use the documents, materials or other information in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as part of the director's official duties. Subject to the restrictions prescribed in section 20-299, the director shall provide an insurer being examined with copies of all documents, materials and other information that the director intends to rely on as evidence of an alleged violation of this title or that justifies any regulatory or other action against the insurer to allow the insurer to review the alleged findings and make any objections pursuant to subsection B of this section. A disclosure pursuant to this subsection is not a waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the disclosed documents, materials or other information.

G. Documents, materials or other information, including all working papers and copies thereof, in the possession or control of the national association of insurance commissioners or its affiliates are confidential and privileged, are not subject to title 39, chapter 1, article 2, are not subject to subpoena and are not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action if the documents, materials or information are either:

1. Created, produced or obtained by or disclosed to the national association of insurance commissioners or its affiliates in the course of assisting the director in the examination or analysis of the financial condition or market conduct of an insurer under this title.

2. Disclosed to the national association of insurance commissioners or its affiliates by the director under subsection E or I of this section.

H. The director, the director's deputies, assistants or examiners and representatives of the national association of insurance commissioners or its affiliates are prohibited from testifying in any private civil action concerning documents, materials or other information that are confidential and privileged pursuant to subsection F or G of this section.

I. The director may:

1. Share nonpublic documents, materials or other information with other state, federal and international regulatory agencies, with the national association of insurance commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries and with state, federal and international law enforcement authorities if the recipient agrees and warrants that it has the authority to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the documents, materials or other information.

2. Receive documents, materials and other information from the national association of insurance commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries and from regulatory and law enforcement officials of other jurisdictions and shall maintain as confidential or privileged any document, material or other 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 other information.

3. Enter into agreements that govern the sharing and use of documents, materials and other information and that are consistent with this section.

J. A disclosure to or by the director pursuant to this section or as a result of sharing information pursuant to subsection I of this section is not a waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents, materials or other information disclosed or shared.