§ 26-48-208 — Confidentiality; prohibition on announcements; prohibition on use in ratemaking

Wyoming § 26-48-208

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 26: Insurance Code
• Ch. 48: RISK-BASED CAPITAL

Text

(a) All RBC reports, to the extent the information is not
required to be set forth in a publicly available annual
statement schedule, and RBC plans, including the results or
report of any examination or analysis of a health organization
performed pursuant to this article and any corrective order
issued by the commissioner pursuant to examination or analysis,
with respect to a domestic health organization or foreign health
organization that are in the possession or control of the
department of insurance shall be confidential by law and
privileged, shall not be subject to inspection under W.S.
16-4-201 through 16-4-205, shall not be subject to subpoena, and
shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in
any private civil action. However, the commissioner is
authorized to use the documents, materials or other information
in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as
a part of the commissioner's official duties.
(b) Neither the commissioner nor any person who received
documents, materials or other information while acting under the
authority of the commissioner shall be permitted or required to
testify in any private civil action concerning any confidential
documents, materials or information subject to subsection (a) of
this section.
(c) In order to assist in the performance of the
commissioner's duties, the commissioner:
(i) May share documents, materials or other
information, including the confidential and privileged
documents, materials or information subject to subsection (a) of
this section, with other state, federal and international
regulatory agencies, with the NAIC and its affiliates and
subsidiaries and with state, federal and international law
enforcement authorities, provided that the recipient agrees to
maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the
document, material or other information;
(ii) May receive documents, materials or information,
including otherwise confidential and privileged documents,
materials or information, from the NAIC 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 that it is
confidential or privileged under the laws of the jurisdiction
that is the source of the document, material or information; and
(iii) May enter into agreements governing sharing and
use of information consistent with this subsection.
(d) No waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of
confidentiality in the documents, materials or information shall
occur as a result of disclosure to the commissioner under this
section or as a result of sharing as authorized in paragraph
(c)(iii) of this section.
(e) The comparison of a health organization's total
adjusted capital to any of its RBC levels is a regulatory tool
which 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 article, 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 RBC levels of any
health organization, or of any component derived in the
calculation, by any health organization, agent, broker or other
person engaged in any manner in the insurance business would be
misleading and is therefore prohibited, provided, however, that
if any materially false statement with respect to the comparison
regarding a health organization's total adjusted capital to its
RBC levels or an inappropriate comparison of any other amount to
the health organizations' RBC 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.
(f) RBC instructions, RBC reports, adjusted RBC reports,
RBC plans and revised RBC plans shall 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.