OGSR/Records of Insurers/Department of Financial Services
Summary
HB 7011 amends Florida’s public-records exemption for certain insurer records held by the Department of Financial Services when the department is acting as receiver for an insolvent insurer. The bill expands and clarifies the categories of records that remain confidential and exempt from disclosure, including 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 insurance regulators and governmental entities.
The bill also preserves existing exceptions that allow limited disclosure to specified state and federal agencies, law enforcement and regulatory authorities, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, state guaranty associations, designated fraud-investigation employees, and consumers or their authorized representatives for their own personal financial and health information. In addition, it removes the scheduled repeal date under the Open Government Sunset Review Act, meaning the exemption would continue without automatic expiration if enacted.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would amend section 631.195, Florida Statutes, to broaden and permanently maintain the confidentiality of specified insurer records in receivership proceedings handled by the Department of Financial Services. It would affect public access under Florida’s Public Records Act and the state constitution’s open-records provisions by keeping more insolvency-related insurance records exempt from disclosure, while preserving limited, controlled access for oversight, fraud investigation, claims administration, and consumer access to personal information.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong, unanimous support in committee, with the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee voting 18-0 and the House State Affairs Committee voting 22-0. That pattern suggests the bill was viewed favorably as a routine government-sunset review measure and as a technical confidentiality update rather than a controversial policy change. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate indicating opposition.
Contention
No direct contention is reflected in the provided materials, and the unanimous committee votes indicate little to no resistance. The main policy tension inherent in the bill is between transparency in government records and protecting sensitive insurer, consumer, and insolvency-related information during receivership. Any concern would likely come from open-government advocates worried about reduced public access, while supporters would emphasize privacy, regulatory effectiveness, and the orderly handling of insolvent insurers.