402-H:4 Maintenance of Information. –
I. An administrator shall maintain and make available to the insurer complete books and records of all transactions performed on behalf of the insurer. The books and records shall be maintained in accordance with prudent standards of insurance recordkeeping and shall be maintained for a period of not less than 5 years from the date of their creation.
II. The commissioner shall have access to books and records maintained by an administrator for the purposes of examination, audit and inspection. Any documents, materials or other information in the possession or control of the commissioner that are furnished by an administrator, insurer, insurance producer or an employee or agent thereof acting on behalf of the administrator, insurer or insurance producer, or obtained by the commissioner in an investigation shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject to RSA 91-A, shall not be subject to subpoena and shall not be subject to discovery or admission in evidence in any private civil action. However, the commissioner may use such documents, materials, or other information in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as part of the commissioner's official duties.
III. 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 paragraph II.
IV. In order to assist in the performance of his or her duties, the commissioner:
(a) May share documents, materials, or other information, including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information subject to paragraph II, with other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), its affiliates or 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. Such parties shall agree in writing prior to receiving the information to provide to it the same confidential treatment as required by this paragraph, unless the prior written consent of the company to which it pertains has been obtained;
(b) May receive documents, materials, or information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information, from the NAIC, its affiliates or subsidiaries, and from regulatory and law enforcement officials or 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
(c) May enter into agreements governing sharing and use of information consistent with this paragraph.
V. 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 IV.
VI. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the commissioner from releasing final, adjudicated actions including for cause terminations that are open to public inspection, pursuant to RSA 91-A, to a database or other clearinghouse service maintained by the NAIC, its affiliates or subsidiaries.
VII. The insurer shall own the records generated by the administrator pertaining to the insurer; however, the administrator shall retain the right to continuing access to books and records to permit the administrator to fulfill all of its contractual obligations to insured parties, claimants, and the insurer.
VIII. If the insurer and the administrator cancel their agreement, notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 402-H:4, I, the administrator may, by written agreement with the insurer, transfer all records to a new administrator rather than retain them for 5 years. In such cases, the new administrator shall acknowledge, in writing, that it is responsible for retaining the records of the prior administrator as required in RSA 402-H:4, I.
Source. 1993, 253:1. 2006, 271:3, eff. Aug. 8, 2006.