§ 26.1-35-14 — Confidentiality

North Dakota § 26.1-35-14

• Jurisdiction: North Dakota
• Title 26.1: Insurance
• Ch. 26.1-35: Standard Valuation Law

Text

1. For purposes of this section, "confidential information" means:
a. A memorandum in support of an opinion submitted under section 26.1-35-01.1
and any other documents, materials, and other information, including all working
papers, and copies thereof, created, produced, or obtained by or disclosed to the
commissioner or any other person in connection with such memorandum;
b. All documents, materials, and other information, including all working papers and
copies of working papers, created, produced, or obtained by or disclosed to the
commissioner or any other person in the course of an examination made under
subsection 5 of section 26.1-35-00.2. However, if an examination report or other
material prepared in connection with an examination made under chapter 26.1-03
is not held as private and confidential information under chapter 26.1-03, an
examination report or other material prepared in connection with an examination
made under subsection 5 of section 26.1-35-00.2 may not be confidential
information to the same extent as if such examination report or other material had
been prepared under chapter 26.1-03;
c. Any reports, documents, materials, and other information developed by an insurer
in support of, or in connection with, an annual certification by the insurer under
subdivision b of subsection 2 of section 26.1-35-12 evaluating the effectiveness

of the insurer's internal controls with respect to a principle-based valuation and
any other documents, materials, and other information, including all working
papers and copies of working papers created, produced, or obtained by or
disclosed to the commissioner or any other person in connection with such
reports, documents, materials, and other information;
d. Any principle-based valuation report developed under subdivision c of
subsection 2 of section 26.1-35-12 and any other documents, materials, and
other information, including all working papers and copies of working papers
created, produced, or obtained by or disclosed to the commissioner or any other
person in connection with such report; and
e. Any documents, materials, data, and other information submitted by an insurer
under section 26.1-35-13, collectively referred to as experience data, and any
other documents, materials, data, and other information, including all working
papers and copies of working papers created or produced in connection with
such experience data, in each case that include any potentially insurer-identifying
or personally identifiable information, that is provided to or obtained by the
commissioner, together with any experience data, the experience materials, and
any other documents, materials, data, and other information, including all working
papers and copies of working papers created, produced, or obtained by or
disclosed to the commissioner or any other person in connection with such
experience materials.
2. a. Except as provided in this section, an insurer's confidential information is
confidential and privileged, and is not subject to section 44-04-18, is not subject
to subpoena, and is not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any
private civil action. However, the commissioner may use the confidential
information in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought against the
insurer as a part of the commissioner's official duties.
b. Neither the commissioner nor any person that received confidential information
while acting under the authority of the commissioner is permitted or required to
testify in any private civil action concerning any confidential information.
c. In order to assist in the performance of the commissioner's duties, the
commissioner may share confidential information with other state, federal, and
international regulatory agencies and with the national association of insurance
commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and in the case of confidential
information specified in subdivisions a and d of subsection 1 only, with the
actuarial board for counseling and discipline or its successor upon request stating
that the confidential information is required for the purpose of professional
disciplinary proceedings and with state, federal, and international law
enforcement officials, provided that such recipient agrees, and has the legal
authority to agree, to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of such
documents, materials, data, and other information in the same manner and to the
same extent as required for the commissioner.
d. The commissioner may receive documents, materials, data, and other
information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials,
data, or information, from the national association of insurance commissioners
and its affiliates and subsidiaries, from regulatory or law enforcement officials of
other foreign or domestic jurisdictions, and from the actuarial board for counseling
and discipline or its successor and shall maintain as confidential or privileged any
document, material, data, 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.
e. The commissioner may enter agreements governing sharing and use of
information consistent with this subsection.
f. A waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the confidential
information may not occur as a result of disclosure to the commissioner under
this section or as a result of sharing as authorized in subdivision c.

g. A privilege established under the law of any state or jurisdiction which is
substantially similar to the privilege established under this subsection is available
and must be enforced in any proceeding in and in any court of this state.
h. In this section, reference to regulatory agency, law enforcement agency, and the
national association of insurance commissioners, includes the employees,
agents, consultants, and contractors of these entities.
3. Notwithstanding subsection 2, any confidential information specified in subdivisions a
and d of subsection 1:
a. May be subject to subpoena for the purpose of defending an action seeking
damages from the appointed actuary submitting the related memorandum in
support of an opinion submitted under section 26.1-35-01.1 or principle-based
valuation report developed under subdivision c of subsection 2 of section
26.1-35-12 by reason of an action required by this chapter or by rules adopted
under this chapter;
b. May otherwise be released by the commissioner with the written consent of the
insurer; and
c. Once any portion of a memorandum in support of an opinion submitted under
section 26.1-35-01.1 or a principle-based valuation report developed under
subdivision c of subsection 2 of section 26.1-35-12 is cited by the insurer in its
marketing or is publicly volunteered to or before a governmental agency other
than a state insurance department or is released by the insurer to the news
media, all portions of such memorandum or report are no longer confidential.