Section 677 - [Effective 7/1/2024]A. Any documents, materials, or other information in the control or possession of the Insurance Department that are furnished by a licensee or an employee or agent thereof acting on behalf of a licensee pursuant to the provisions of Section 4 and Section 6 of this act or that are obtained by the Insurance Commissioner in an investigation or examination pursuant to Section 7 of this act shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject to the Oklahoma Open Records Act, 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 duties. The Commissioner shall not otherwise make the documents, materials, or other information public without the prior written consent of the licensee.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 duties of the Commissioner under this act, the Commissioner:1. 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 National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its affiliates or subsidiaries and with state, federal, and international law enforcement authorities; provided, that the recipient agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information;2. May receive documents, materials, or information including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information, from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, its affiliates or 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;3. May share documents, materials, or other information subject to subsection A of this section, with a third-party consultant or vendor; provided, the consultant agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information; and4. 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 Insurance Commissioner under this section or as a result of sharing as authorized in subsection C of this section.E. Nothing in this act shall prohibit the Commissioner from releasing final, adjudicated actions that are open to public inspection pursuant to the Oklahoma Open Records Act, to a database or other clearinghouse service maintained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, its affiliates, or subsidiaries.F. Documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or a third-party consultant or vendor pursuant to this act shall not be construed to be public information, shall not be subject to the Oklahoma Open Records Act, shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible as evidence in any private civil action.Okla. Stat. tit. 36, § 677
Added by Laws 2024, c. 346,s. 8, eff. 7/1/2024.