§ 24-A §216 — Records; inspection; destruction

1.
The superintendent shall carefully preserve in the bureau and in permanent form a correct account of all the superintendent's transactions and of all fees and money received by the superintendent by virtue of the superintendent's office, together with all financial statements, examination reports, correspondence, filings and documents duly received by the bureau. The superintendent shall hand the same over to the superintendent's successor in office.
2.
All records of the bureau are subject to public inspection, except as otherwise expressly provided by law as to particular matters; and except that records, correspondence and reports of investigation in connection with actual or claimed violations of this Title or prosecution or disciplinary action for those violations are confidential. The confidential nature of any such record, correspondence or report may not limit or affect use of the same by the superintendent in any such prosecution or action. This subsection does not preclude participation by the superintendent in the establishment of an interstate complaint handling system that may involve the sharing of information with insurance regulatory officials in other jurisdictions and with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, as long as the names of the complainant and insured remain confidential. This subsection does not preclude the dissemination of aggregate ratios of consumer complaints to the public by the superintendent. Only complaints received in writing are included in the calculation of the complaint ratio. A complaint received by electronic means is considered a written complaint. For the purposes of this subsection, a "consumer complaint" means any written complaint that results in the need for the bureau to conduct further investigation or to communicate in writing with a regulated entity for a response or resolution to the complaint. The superintendent shall adopt rules necessary to define the method for calculating complaint ratios. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II‑A.
3.
All records and documents of the bureau are subject to subpoena by a court of competent jurisdiction.
4.
The superintendent may destroy unneeded or obsolete records and filings in the bureau in accordance with provisions and procedures applicable to administrative agencies of the State in general.
5.
In order to assist the superintendent in the regulation of insurers in this State, it is the duty of the superintendent to maintain as confidential a document or information received from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or International Association of Insurance Supervisors, public officials of other jurisdictions and members of supervisory colleges in which the superintendent participates pursuant to section 222, subsection 7‑B, agencies of the Federal Government, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers or political subdivisions or other agencies of this State, if the document or the information has been provided to the superintendent with notice that it is confidential under the laws of the jurisdiction that is the source of the document or information.

Legislative History

PL 1969, c. 132, §1 (NEW). PL 1973, c. 585, §12 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 269, §5 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 375, §B1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 314, §1 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 184, §19 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 165, §A1 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 238, Pt. A, §1 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 238, Pt. A, §34 (AFF). PL 2017, c. 115, §1 (AMD). RR 2021, c. 1, Pt. B, §160 (COR). PL 2021, c. 521, §§3, 4 (AMD).