OGSR/Records of Insurers/Department of Financial Services:
HB 7011 updates Florida’s public-records exemption for certain insurer records held by the Department of Financial Services when the department is acting as receiver in an insurer delinquency or insolvency proceeding. The bill revises and expands the list of confidential and exempt records to include, among other things, consumer personal financial and health information, underwriting files, personnel and payroll records, consumer claim files, ORSA summary reports and supporting documents, corporate governance annual disclosures and supporting documents, and certain confidential information received from other regulators and insurance organizations.
The bill also preserves existing exceptions that allow disclosure in limited circumstances, such as to other governmental entities, in response to subpoenas or investigations, to insurance guaranty associations handling claims for insolvent insurers, to designated insurance fraud investigators, and to consumers seeking their own personal financial and health information. It removes the scheduled repeal date, meaning the exemption would no longer sunset on October 2, 2025, and would instead remain in effect unless changed by future legislation.
HB 7011 amends section 631.195, Florida Statutes, affecting the confidentiality rules for records related to insurer receiverships and delinquency proceedings. By broadening and clarifying the exempt records and eliminating the automatic sunset, the bill strengthens the long-term public-records protection for sensitive insurer and consumer information held by the Department of Financial Services. It primarily affects the department, insurers in receivership, consumers whose information appears in those records, guaranty associations, regulators, and fraud investigators.
The available legislative history suggests the bill was generally noncontroversial and procedural in nature, consistent with an Open Government Sunset Review measure that renews an existing exemption rather than creating a new policy area. The companion bill passed and HB 7011 was laid on the table, indicating the substance was ultimately advanced through the Senate companion rather than through this House vehicle. No committee debate or recorded votes are provided here, but the outcome suggests broad acceptance of the need to continue the exemption.
The main policy tension in this bill is between public access to government-held records and the privacy/confidentiality interests of insurers, consumers, and regulators involved in insolvency proceedings. Supporters of the exemption would favor protecting sensitive financial, health, underwriting, and claims information from disclosure, while transparency advocates may be concerned that expanding or making permanent the exemption limits public oversight. The bill’s limited disclosure exceptions help address operational needs for regulators, fraud investigators, and consumers, but the core contention remains the scope and permanence of the public-records exemption.