Privacy Regs Pending

Seven states have privacy legislation pending which could require major systems changes.

Privacy legislation/regulation currently pending in seven states, if passed, may have technology implications for carriers doing business in Alaska, Idaho, California, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey and North Dakota, according to Kathleen Jensen, NAII (National Association of Independent Insurers, Des Plaines, IL) Insurance Services Council.

Pursuant to the passage of Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB), every state responded either with the state's department of insurance issuing a bulletin mandating that an insurer comply with GLB or with the state's legislature passing privacy legislation/regulation that is within compliance of GLB, according to Jensen. Because privacy legislation/regulation is still pending in some states, carriers may have to adjust information-sharing practices, as well as the notices that identity practices.

"There are a number of slightly different scenarios that have been proposed," says Jensen. If legislation/regulation is passed prohibiting insurers from disclosing non-public personal information to affiliates, unless the policyholder has provided an opt-in, major systems changes would be required, according to Jensen.