§431:2-209  Records and reports.  (a) The commissioner shall preserve in permanent form records and reports of thecommissioner's proceedings, hearings, investigations, and examinations, andshall file the records in the commissioner's office.

(b)  The records of the commissioner andinsurance filings in the commissioner's office shall be open to publicinspection, except as otherwise provided in this code.

(c)  One year after conclusion of thetransactions to which they relate, the commissioner may destroy anycorrespondence, void or obsolete filings relating to rates, certificate ofauthority applications, self-insurance applications, registrations, foreign oralien insurers' annual statements, valuation reports, certificates ofcompliance and deposits, cards, and expired bonds.  Three years after theconclusion of the transactions to which they relate, the commissioner maydestroy any claim files, working papers of examinations, reports of examinationby insurance supervisory officials of other states, void or obsolete filingsrelating to license applications, records of hearings and investigations, andany similar records, documents, or memoranda now or hereafter in thecommissioner's possession.

(d)  Three years after the year to which theyrelate, the commissioner may destroy any foreign or alien insurer's taxreports, or similar records or reports now or hereafter in the commissioner'spossession.

(e)  The following records and reports on filewith the commissioner shall be confidential and protected from discovery,production, and disclosure for so long as the commissioner deems prudent:

(1)  Complaints and investigation reports;

(2)  Working papers of examinations, complaints, andinvestigation reports;

(3)  Proprietary information, including trade secrets,commercial information, and business plans, which, if disclosed may result incompetitive harm to the person providing the information; and

(4)  Any documents or information received from theNational Association of Insurance Commissioners, the federal government,insurance regulatory agencies of foreign countries, or insurance departments ofother states, territories, and commonwealths that are confidential in otherjurisdictions.  The commissioner may share information, including otherwise confidentialinformation, with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, thefederal government, insurance regulatory agencies of foreign countries, orinsurance departments of other states, territories, and commonwealths so longas the statutes or regulations of the other jurisdictions permit them tomaintain the same level of confidentiality as required under Hawaii law.

(f)  The commissioner shall:

(1)  Treat and maintain an applicant's fingerprintsand any criminal history record information obtained under this code asconfidential;

(2)  Apply security measures consistent with theFederal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Justice Information ServicesDivision's standards for the electronic storage of fingerprints and necessaryidentifying information; and

(3)  Limit the use of the records solely to purposesauthorized by law.

Fingerprints and criminal history record informationshall not be subject to subpoena, other than subpoenas issued in criminalactions or investigations, and shall be confidential by law and privileged andnot subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action.

(g)  The commissioner shall not disclose anyinformation that is exempt from disclosure by federal or Hawaii statutes. [L1987, c 347, pt of §2; am L 1989, c 195, §10; am L 1991, c 248, §1; am L 1993,c 205, §2; am L 1995, c 232, §7; am L 2000, c 182, §4; am L 2004, c 122, §5; amL 2007, c 233, §26; am L 2009, c 77, §14]

 

Cross References

 

  Uniform Information Practices Act (Modified), see chapter92F.