§ 26.1-03.2-08 — Confidentiality - Prohibition on announcements - Prohibition on use in ratemaking

North Dakota § 26.1-03.2-08

• Jurisdiction: North Dakota
• Title 26.1: Insurance
• Ch. 26.1-03.2: Risk-Based Capital for Health Organizations

Text

ratemaking.
1. All risk-based capital reports, to the extent the information is not required to be set
forth in a publicly available annual statement schedule, and risk-based capital plans,
including the results or report of any examination or analysis of a health organization
performed pursuant to this chapter, and any corrective order issued by the
commissioner pursuant to examination or analysis, with respect to a domestic health
organization or foreign health organization, which are filed with the commissioner
constitute information that might be damaging to the health organization if made
available to its competitors, and therefore shall be kept confidential by the
commissioner. This information may not be made public or be subject to subpoena,
other than by the commissioner and then only for the purpose of enforcement actions
taken by the commissioner pursuant to this chapter or any other provision of the
insurance laws of this state.
2. Neither the commissioner nor any person that received documents, materials, or other
information while acting under the authority of the commissioner is permitted or
required to testify in any private civil action concerning any confidential documents,
materials, or information subject to subsection 1.
3. To assist in the performance of the commissioner's duties, the commissioner may:
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 and its affiliates and subsidiaries; and with state,
federal, and international law enforcement authorities, if the recipient agrees 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 and its affiliates and 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 documents, materials, or
information is confidential or privileged under the laws of the jurisdiction that is
the source of the document, material, or other information; and
c. Enter agreements governing sharing and use of information consistent with this
subsection.
4. A waiver of an applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents,
materials, or information does not occur as a result of disclosure to the commissioner
under this section or as a result of sharing as authorized in subdivision c of
subsection 3.
5. It is the judgment of the legislature that the comparison of a health organization's total
adjusted capital to any of its risk-based capital levels is a regulatory tool that may
indicate the need for corrective action with respect to the health organization and is not
intended as a means to rank health organizations generally. Therefore, except as
otherwise required under the provisions of this chapter, 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, or in the form of a notice, circular,
pamphlet, letter, or poster, or over a radio or television station, or in any other way, an
advertisement, announcement, or statement containing an assertion, representation,
or statement with regard to the risk-based capital levels of any health organization, or
of any component derived in the calculation, by any health organization, insurance
producer, or other person engaged in any manner in the insurance business would be
misleading and is therefore prohibited. However, if any materially false statement with
respect to the comparison regarding a health organization's total adjusted capital to its
risk-based capital levels, or any of them, or an inappropriate comparison of any other

amount to the health organization's risk-based capital levels is published in any written
publication and the health organization is able to demonstrate to the commissioner
with substantial proof the falsity of the statement, or the inappropriateness, as the case
may be, then the health organization may publish an announcement in a written
publication if the sole purpose of the announcement is to rebut the materially false
statement.
6. It is the further judgment of the legislature that the risk-based capital instructions,
risk-based capital reports, adjusted risk-based capital reports, risk-based capital plans,
and revised risk-based capital plans are intended solely for use by the commissioner
in monitoring the solvency of health organizations and the need for possible corrective
action with respect to health organizations and may not be used by the commissioner
for ratemaking nor considered or introduced as evidence in any rate proceeding nor
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 a health organization or
any affiliate is authorized to write.