§ 33-2-1909 — Confidentiality -- Prohibition On Announcements -- Prohibition On Use In Ratemaking

Montana § 33-2-1909

• Jurisdiction: Montana
• Title 33: INSURANCE AND INSURANCE COMPANIES
• Ch. 2: REGULATION OF INSURANCE COMPANIES
• Part 19: Risk-Based Capital for Insurers

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33-2-1909 . Confidentiality -- prohibition on announcements -- prohibition on use in ratemaking. (1) With respect to a domestic insurer or a foreign insurer, all RBC reports, to the extent the information in the reports is not required to be set forth in a publicly available annual statement schedule, and all RBC plans, including the results or report of any examination or analysis of an insurer performed pursuant to this part and any corrective order issued by the commissioner pursuant to the examination or analysis, that are filed with the commissioner constitute information that might be damaging to the insurer if made available to its competitors and must be kept confidential by the commissioner. This information may not be made public and is not subject to subpoena other than by the commissioner and then only for the purpose of enforcement actions taken by the commissioner pursuant to this part or any other provision of the insurance laws of this state.
(2) It is the intent of the legislature that the comparison of an insurer's total adjusted capital to any of its RBC levels is a regulatory tool that may indicate the need for possible corrective action with respect to the insurer and that it is not intended as a means to rank insurers generally. Except as otherwise required under the provisions of 33-2-1911 through 33-2-1913 , the making, publishing, disseminating, circulating, or placing before the public or causing, directly or indirectly to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public, in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication, in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, or poster, over any radio or television station, or in any other way, an advertisement, announcement, or statement containing an assertion, representation, or statement with regard to the RBC levels of any insurer or of any component derived in the calculation that is by any insurer, producer, or other person engaged in any manner in the insurance business would be misleading and is prohibited. However, if any materially false statement with respect to the comparison regarding an insurer's total adjusted capital to its RBC levels or an inappropriate comparison of any other amount to the insurer's RBC levels is published in any written publication and the insurer is able to demonstrate to the commissioner, with substantial proof, the falsity of the statement or the inappropriateness, as the case may be, the insurer may publish an announcement in a written publication if the sole purpose of the announcement is to rebut the materially false statement.
(3) It is the further intent of the legislature that the RBC instructions, RBC reports, adjusted RBC reports, RBC plans, and revised RBC plans are intended solely for use by the commissioner in monitoring the solvency of insurers and the need for possible corrective action with respect to insurers and may not be used by the commissioner for ratemaking or considered or introduced as evidence in any rate proceeding or used by the commissioner to calculate or derive any elements of an appropriate premium level or rate of return for any line of insurance that an insurer or any affiliate is authorized to write.

Legislative History

En. Sec. 90, Ch. 379, L. 1995.