TITLE 41

INSURANCE

CHAPTER 2

THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE

41-292.  Disclosure of information by insurers. (1) The director of the department of insurance, state fire marshal or any authorized agency may, in writing, require the insurance company at interest to release to the requesting agency any or all relevant information or evidence deemed important to the authorized agency, director or state fire marshal which the company may have in its possession, relating to the loss in question. Relevant information may include, without limitation herein:

(a)  Pertinent insurance policy information relevant to a loss under investigation and any application for such a policy;

(b)  Policy premium payment records which are available;

(c)  History of previous claims made by the insured;

(d)  Material relating to the investigation of the loss, including statements of any person, proof of loss, and any other evidence relevant to the investigation.

(2)  (a) When an insurance company has facts to support a belief that a loss in which it has an interest may be of other than accidental cause, then, for the purpose of notification and for having such loss investigated, the company shall, in writing, notify the director of the department of insurance, or the state fire marshal, and provide any or all material developed from the company’s inquiry into the loss.

(b)  When an insurance company provides the director of the department of insurance or the state fire marshal with notice of a loss, it shall be sufficient notice for the purpose of this chapter.

(c)  Nothing in section 41-292(1), Idaho Code, shall abrogate or impair the rights or powers created under section 41-292(2), Idaho Code.

(3)  The director of the department of insurance, the state fire marshal or an authorized agency provided with information pursuant to section 41-248, 41-258, 41-290 or 41-292(1) or (2), Idaho Code, and in furtherance of its own purposes, may release or provide such information to any of the other authorized agencies.

(4)  Any insurance company providing information to an authorized agency or agencies pursuant to section 41-258, 41-290 or 41-292(1) or (2), Idaho Code, shall have the right to request relevant information relative to the loss in question and to receive, within a reasonable time, not to exceed thirty (30) days, the information requested, if the information is not otherwise privileged by law.

(5)  In the absence of fraud or malice, no person shall be subject to civil liability for libel, slander or any other relevant tort cause of action by virtue of filing reports or furnishing other information required by this chapter or required by the director of the department of insurance under the authority granted in this chapter, and no civil cause of action of any nature shall arise against such person:

(a)  For any information relating to suspected fraudulent insurance acts furnished to or received from authorized agencies, their agents and employees; or

(b)  For any information relating to suspected fraudulent insurance acts furnished to or received from other persons subject to the provisions of this chapter; or

(c)  For any such information furnished in reports to the department of insurance, national association of insurance commissioners, national insurance crime bureau or any organization established to detect and prevent fraudulent insurance acts, their agents, employees or designees, nor shall the director or any employee of the department of insurance, acting without malice in the absence of fraud, be subject to civil liability for libel, slander or any other relevant tort and no civil cause of action of any nature shall arise against such person by virtue of the publication of any report or bulletin related to the official activities of the department of insurance. Nothing herein is intended to abrogate or modify in any way any common law or statutory privilege or immunity heretofore enjoyed by any person.

(6)  For purposes of subsection (5) of this section, there shall exist a rebuttable presumption that the person has acted without fraud or malice.

History:

[(41-292) 1982, ch. 120, sec. 19, p. 346; am. and redesig. 1994, ch. 219, sec. 4, p. 698; am. 2005, ch. 74, sec. 2, p. 252.]