Effective: June 18, 2002
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 138 - 124th General Assembly
(A) In all proceedings and judicial reviews thereof under sections 3903.09 and 3903.10 of the Revised Code, all records of the insurer, other documents, and all department of insurance files and court records and papers, so far as they pertain to or are a part of the record of the proceedings, shall be and remain confidential and privileged except as is necessary to enforce compliance with those sections, unless and until the court of common pleas, after hearing arguments from the parties in chambers, shall order otherwise, or unless the insurer requests in writing that the matter be made public. Until such court order or such request from the insurer, all papers filed with the clerk of the court shall be held by the clerk in a confidential file.
(B) Notwithstanding division (A) of this section, the superintendent may do either of the following:
(1) Share the documents and information that are the subject of this section with the chief deputy rehabilitator, the chief deputy liquidator, other deputy rehabilitators and liquidators, and any other person employed by, or acting on behalf of, the superintendent pursuant to Chapter 3901. or 3903. of the Revised Code, with other local, state, federal, and international regulatory and law enforcement agencies, with local, state, and federal prosecutors, and with the national association of insurance commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, provided that the recipient agrees to maintain the confidential or privileged status of the confidential or privileged document or information and has authority to do so;
(2) Disclose documents and information that are the subject of this section in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought by or on behalf of the superintendent or the state, resulting from the exercise of the superintendent's official duties.
(C) Notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of this section, the superintendent may authorize the national association of insurance commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries by agreement to share confidential or privileged documents or information received pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section with local, state, federal, and international regulatory and law enforcement agencies and with local, state, and federal prosecutors, provided that the recipient agrees to maintain the confidential or privileged status of the confidential or privileged document or information and has authority to do so.
(D) Notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of this section, the chief deputy rehabilitator, the chief deputy liquidator, and other deputy rehabilitators and liquidators may disclose documents and information that are the subject of this section in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought by or on behalf of the superintendent, the rehabilitator, the liquidator, or the state resulting from the exercise of the superintendent's official duties in any capacity.
(E) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the superintendent from receiving documents or information in accordance with section 3901.045 of the Revised Code.
(F) The superintendent may enter into agreements governing the sharing and use of documents and information consistent with the requirements of this section.
(G)(1) No waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents and information described in this section shall occur as a result of sharing or receiving documents and information as authorized in divisions (B)(1), (C), and (E) of this section.
(2) The disclosure of documents or information in connection with a regulatory or legal action pursuant to divisions (B)(2) and (D) of this section does not prohibit an insurer or any other person from taking steps to limit the dissemination of the document or information to persons not involved in or the subject of the regulatory or legal action on the basis of any recognized privilege arising under any other section of the Revised Code or the common law.