[§431:2D-104]  Market analysis procedures. (a)  The commissioner shall gather information from data currently available tothe insurance division, as well as surveys and required reporting requirements,information collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissionersand a variety of other sources in both the public and private sectors,information from within and outside the insurance industry from objectivesources, information from websites for insurers, agents, and otherorganizations, and information from other sources; provided that prior to use,the sources are published at least annually in a bulletin or circular.

The information shall be analyzed to develop abaseline understanding of the marketplace and to identify for further reviewinsurers or practices that deviate significantly from the norm or that may posea potential risk to the insurance consumer.  The commissioner shall useprocedures that are substantially similar to the National Association ofInsurance Commissioners' guidelines on market analysis as one resource inperforming this analysis.

The commissioner shall use the followingpolicies and procedures in performing the analysis required under this section:

(1)  Identify key lines of business for systematicreview; and

(2)  Identify companies for further analysis based onavailable information.

(b)  If the analysis compels the commissionerto inquire further into a particular insurer or practice, the followingcontinuum of market conduct actions may be considered prior to conducting atargeted, on-site market conduct examination.  The action selected shall bemade known to the insurer in writing.  These actions may include but are notlimited to:

(1)  Correspondence with the insurer;

(2)  Insurer interviews;

(3)  Information gathering;

(4)  Policy and procedure reviews;

(5)  Interrogatories; and

(6)  Review of insurer self-evaluation and complianceprograms, including membership in an organization such as a best-practiceorganization that has as its central mission the promotion of high ethicalstandards in the marketplace.

(c)  The commissioner shall select a marketconduct action that is cost-effective for the insurance division and theinsurer, while still protecting the insurance consumer.

(d)  The commissioner shall take those stepsreasonably necessary to:

(1)  Eliminate requests for information thatduplicate:

(A)  Information provided as part of aninsurer's annual financial statement, the annual market conduct statement ofthe National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or other requiredschedules, surveys, or reports that are regularly submitted to thecommissioner; or

(B)  Data requests made by other states if thatinformation is available to the commissioner, unless the information isstate-specific; and

(2)  Coordinate market conduct actions and findingswith other states. [L 2007, c 227, pt of §1]