Bill > H1273

This bill creates a new section of Florida law to protect certain proprietary business information and other confidential data held by the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) from public disclosure. Proprietary business information is defined as data owned or controlled by an insurer or a potential acquirer that is treated as private because its disclosure would harm business operations, is not readily available elsewhere, and includes trade secrets, information that would impair competitive business, details about acquisition funding, bid or contractual data, and internal auditing controls and reports. The bill specifically exempts this information, along with certain filings related to insurer valuation and solvency, notices of stock divestiture, enterprise risk reports, information from supervisory colleges, and data from actuarial examinations and valuations, from public records requirements. It also protects information received from other governmental entities that is confidential in its original jurisdiction. However, the OIR can disclose this protected information with the insurer's consent, by court order, to the American Academy of Actuaries for disciplinary proceedings, to other regulatory bodies that agree to maintain confidentiality, or if it's aggregated and anonymized for industry-wide reporting. The bill includes a statement of public necessity, explaining that protecting this information is crucial for accurate regulatory oversight and to prevent competitors from gaining an unfair advantage, and it is scheduled for repeal on October 2, 2019, unless reenacted by the Legislature.