OGSR/Department of Financial Services
S7010 revises Florida Statutes section 631.195, which governs public-records exemptions 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 list of records that remain confidential and exempt from public disclosure, including personal financial and health information of consumers, underwriting files, personnel and payroll records, consumer claim files, ORSA summary reports and supporting documents, corporate governance annual disclosures and supporting documents, and certain information received from other insurance regulators or governmental entities.
The bill also preserves existing exceptions that allow release of exempt records in limited circumstances, such as to other government agencies, in response to lawful investigations or subpoenas, to insurance guaranty associations, to designated fraud-investigation employees, and to consumers seeking their own personal financial and health information. In addition, it removes the scheduled repeal of the exemption under the Open Government Sunset Review Act, meaning the exemption is no longer set to expire on October 2, 2025, and the act takes effect October 1, 2025.
The bill amends Florida’s public-records law as applied to insurer receivership records, broadening the statutory confidentiality protections for records held by the Department of Financial Services in delinquency and insolvency proceedings. It also eliminates the sunset date, making the exemption permanent unless later repealed or amended by the Legislature. The affected parties include the Department of Financial Services, insolvent insurers in receivership, consumers whose personal information appears in those records, insurance regulators, guaranty associations, and fraud investigators.
The bill appears to have been received very favorably and without recorded opposition. It passed every listed committee and floor vote unanimously or overwhelmingly, including 10-0 in Senate Banking and Insurance, 7-0 in Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability, 24-0 in Senate Rules, 35-0 on Senate third reading, and 114-0 in the House. The vote pattern suggests broad bipartisan agreement that the confidentiality protections should be maintained and made permanent.
There is little visible contention in the available record. The main policy issue is the balance between government transparency and protecting sensitive insurer, consumer, and regulatory information during receivership proceedings. Support appears to have centered on preserving privacy, safeguarding proprietary and investigative materials, and ensuring effective insurer-solvency administration, while any concerns about limiting public access to records were not reflected in the votes or transcripts provided.