§ 27-4.6-8 - Confidentiality – Prohibition on announcements – Prohibition on use in ratemaking. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 27-4.6-8

   § 27-4.6-8  Confidentiality –Prohibition on announcements – Prohibition on use in ratemaking. –(a) All RBC reports (to the extent the information in them is not required tobe set forth in a publicly available annual statement schedule) and RBC plans(including the results or report or any examination or analysis of an insurerperformed pursuant to this chapter and any corrective order issued by thecommissioner pursuant to that examination or analysis) with respect to anydomestic insurer or foreign insurer which are filed with the commissionerconstitute information that might be damaging to the insurer if made availableto its competitors, and shall be kept confidential by the commissioner. Thisinformation shall not be made public and/or be subject to subpoena, other thanby the commissioner and then only for the purpose of enforcement actions takenby the commissioner pursuant to this chapter or any other provision of theinsurance laws of this state. All RBC reports and RBC plans filed with theinsurance commissioner shall not be deemed public records and shall not besubject to the Access to Public Records Act, chapter 2 of title 38.

   (b) It is the judgment of the legislature that the comparisonof an insurer's total adjusted capital to any of its RBC levels is a regulatorytool which may indicate the need for possible corrective action with respect tothe insurer, and is not intended as a means to rank insurers generally. Exceptas required under the provisions of this chapter, the making, publishing,disseminating, circulating or placing before the public, or causing, directlyor indirectly to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed beforethe public, in a newspaper, magazine or other publication, or in the form of anotice, circular, pamphlet, letter or poster, or over any radio or televisionstation, or in any other way, an advertisement, announcement or statementcontaining an assertion, representation or statement with regard to the RBClevels of any insurer, or of any component derived in the calculation, by anyinsurer, agent, broker or other person engaged in any manner in the insurancebusiness would be misleading and is prohibited; provided, that if anymaterially false statement with respect to the comparison regarding aninsurer's total adjusted capital to its RBC levels (or any of them) or aninappropriate comparison of any other amount to the insurers' RBC levels ispublished in any written publication and the insurer is able to demonstrate tothe commissioner with substantial proof the falsity of that statement, or theinappropriateness, then the insurer may publish an announcement in a writtenpublication if the sole purpose of the announcement is to rebut the materiallyfalse statement.

   (c) It is the judgment of the legislature that the RBCinstructions, RBC reports, adjusted RBC reports, RBC plans and revised RBCplans are intended solely for use by the commissioner in monitoring thesolvency of insurers and the need for possible corrective action with respectto insurers and shall not be used by the commissioner for ratemaking norconsidered or introduced as evidence in any rate proceeding nor used by thecommissioner to calculate or derive any elements of an appropriate premiumlevel or rate of return for any line of insurance which an insurer or anyaffiliate is authorized to write.