law24354

Chapter 354

2024 -- H 7281 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/26/2024

A N A C T

RELATING TO INSURANCE -- EXAMINATIONS

Introduced By: Representatives Kennedy, Azzinaro, O'Brien, Solomon, Edwards, Kazarian, and Casimiro

Date Introduced: January 26, 2024

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 27-13.1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-13.1 entitled

"Examinations" is hereby amended to read as follows:

27-13.1-3. Authority, scope, and scheduling of examinations.

(a) The director or any of his or her the director's examiners may conduct an examination

under this chapter of any company as often as the director in his or her the director's sole discretion

deems appropriate, but shall, at a minimum, conduct an examination of every insurer licensed in

this state not less frequently than once every five (5) years. In scheduling and determining the

nature, scope, and frequency of the examinations, the director shall consider such matters as the

results of financial statement analyses and ratios,; changes in management or ownership,; actuarial

opinions,; reports of independent certified public accountants,; and other criteria as set forth in the

Financial Condition Examiners’ Handbook adopted by the National Association of Insurance

Commissioners and in effect when the director exercises discretion under this section.

(b) For purposes of completing an examination of a company under this chapter, the

director may examine or investigate any person, or the business of any person, in so far as the

examination or investigation is, in the sole discretion of the director, necessary or material to the

examination of the company.

state, the director may accept an examination report on the company as prepared by the insurance

department for the company’s state of domicile or port of entry state only if:

(1) The insurance department was at the time of the examination accredited under the

National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ financial regulation standards and accreditation

program; or

(2) The examination is performed under the supervision of an accredited insurance

department or with the participation of one or more examiners who are employed by an accredited

state insurance department and who, after a review of the examination work papers and report, state

under oath that the examination was performed in a manner consistent with the standards and

procedures required by their insurance department.

SECTION 2. Chapter 27-1 of the General Laws entitled "Domestic Insurance Companies"

is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:

27-1-46. Information security program.

(a) Commensurate with the size and complexity of an insurer, the nature and scope of an

insurer's activities, including its use of third-party service providers, and the sensitivity of the

nonpublic information used by the insurer or in the insurer’s possession, custody, or control, each

domestic insurance company shall develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive written

information security program, based on the insurer's risk assessment and that contains

administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for the protection of nonpublic information and

the insurer's information system. For purposes of this chapter, “information security program”

means the administrative, technical, and physical safeguards that an insurer uses to access, collect,

distribute, process, protect, store, use, transmit, dispose of, or otherwise handle, nonpublic

information. "Publicly available information" means any information that a licensee has a

reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general public from: federal, state, or

local government records; widely distributed media; or disclosures to the general public that are

required to be made by federal, state, or local law. “Nonpublic information” means information

that is not publicly available information and is:

(1) Business-related information of a licensee, the tampering with which, or unauthorized

disclosure, access, or use of which, would cause a material adverse impact to the business,

operations, or security of the licensee;

(2) Any information concerning a consumer which, because of name, number, personal

mark, or other identifier, can be used to identify such consumer, in combination with any one or

more of the following data elements:

(i) Social security number;

(ii) Driver’s license number or non-driver identification card number;

(iii) Account number, credit, or debit card number;

(iv) Any security code, access code, or password that would permit access to a consumer’s

financial account; or

(v) Biometric records.;

(3) Any information or data, except age or gender, in any form or medium created by or

derived from a health carehealthcare provider or a consumer and that relates to:

(i) The past, present, or future physical, mental, behavioral health, or medical condition of

any consumer or a member of the consumer’s family;

(ii) The provision of health care to any consumer; or

(iii) Payment for the provision of health care to any consumer.

(b) Objectives of information security program. An insurer's information security program

shall be designed to:

(1) Protect the security and confidentiality of nonpublic information and the security of the

information system;

(2) Protect against any threats or hazards to the security or integrity of nonpublic

information and the information system;

(3) Protect against unauthorized access to or use of nonpublic information, and minimize

the likelihood of harm to any consumer. For purposes of this section, “consumer” means an

individual, including, but not limited to, applicants, policyholders, insureds, beneficiaries,

claimants, and certificate holders, who is a resident of this state and whose nonpublic information

is in an insurer’s possession, custody, or control; and

(4) Define and periodically reevaluate a schedule for retention of nonpublic information

and a mechanism for its destruction when no longer needed.

(1) Designate one or more employees, an affiliate, or an outside vendor designated to act

on behalf of the insurer who is responsible for the information security program;

(2) Identify reasonably foreseeable internal or external threats that could result in

unauthorized access, transmission, disclosure, misuse, alteration, or destruction of nonpublic

information, including the security of information systems and nonpublic information that are

accessible to, or held by, third-party service providers. “Third-party service providers” means a

person, not otherwise defined as a licensee, that contracts with a licensee to maintain, process, store,

or otherwise is permitted access to nonpublic information through its provision of services to the

licensee. Third-party service providers does not include licensed insurance producers;

(3) Assess the likelihood and potential damage of these threats, taking into consideration

the sensitivity of the nonpublic information;

(4) Assess the sufficiency of policies, procedures, information systems, and other

safeguards in place to manage these threats, including consideration of threats in each relevant area

of the insurer's operations, including:

(i) Employee training and management;

(ii) Information systems, including network and software design, as well as information

classification, governance, processing, storage, transmission, and disposal; and

(iii) Detecting, preventing, and responding to attacks, intrusions, or other systems failures;

and

(5) Implement information safeguards to manage the threats identified in its ongoing

assessment, and no less than annually, assess the effectiveness of the safeguards' key controls,

systems, and procedures.

(d) Risk management. Based on its risk assessment, the insurer shall:

(1) Design its information security program to mitigate the identified risks, commensurate

with the size and complexity of the insurer's activities, including its use of third-party service

providers, and the sensitivity of the nonpublic information used by the insurer or in the insurer's

possession, custody, or control;

(2) Determine which security measures listed below are appropriate and implement such

security measures:

(i) Place access controls on information systems, including controls to authenticate and

permit access only to authorized individuals to protect against the unauthorized acquisition of

nonpublic information. “Authorized individual” means an individual known to and screened by the

insurer, and determined to be necessary and appropriate to have access to the nonpublic information

held by the insurer, and the insurer’s information systems;

(ii) Identify and manage the data, personnel, devices, systems, and facilities that enable the

organization to achieve business purposes in accordance with their relative importance to business

objectives and the organization's risk strategy;

(iii) Restrict access at physical locations containing nonpublic information only to

authorized individuals;

(iv) Protect, by encryption or other appropriate means, all nonpublic information while

being transmitted over an external network and all nonpublic information stored on a laptop

computer or other portable computing or storage device or media;

(v) Adopt secure development practices for in-house developed applications utilized by the

insurer and procedures for evaluating, assessing, or testing the security of externally developed

applications utilized by the insurer.;

(vi) Modify the information system in accordance with the insurer's information security

program;

(vii) Utilize effective controls, which may include multi-factor authentication procedures

for any individual accessing nonpublic information;

(viii) Regularly test and monitor systems and procedures to detect actual and attempted

attacks on, or intrusions into, information systems;

(ix) Include audit trails within the information security program designed to detect and

respond to cybersecurity events and designed to reconstruct material financial transactions

sufficient to support normal operations and obligations of the insurer;

(x) Implement measures to protect against destruction, loss, or damage of nonpublic

information due to environmental hazards, such as fire and water damage or other catastrophes or

technological failures; and

(xi) Develop, implement, and maintain procedures for the secure disposal of nonpublic

information in any format;

(3) Include cybersecurity risks in the insurer's enterprise risk management process;

(4) Stay informed regarding emerging threats or vulnerabilities and utilize reasonable

security measures when sharing information relative to the character of the sharing and the type of

information shared; and

(5) Provide its personnel with cybersecurity awareness training that is updated as necessary

to reflect risks identified by the insurer in the risk assessment.

(e) Oversight by board of directors. If the insurer has a board of directors, the board or an

appropriate committee of the board shall, at a minimum:

(1) Require the insurer's executive management or its designees to develop, implement,

and maintain the insurer's information security program;

(2) Require the insurer's executive management or its designees to report in writing at least

annually, the following information:

(i) The overall status of the information security program and the insurer's compliance with

this chapter; and

(ii) Material matters related to the information security program, addressing issues such as

risk assessment, risk management and control decisions, third-party service provider arrangements,

results of testing, cybersecurity events or violations and management's responses thereto, or

recommendations for changes in the information security program; and

(3) If executive management delegates any of its responsibilities pursuant to this section,

it shall oversee the development, implementation, and maintenance of the insurer's information

security program prepared by the designee(s) and shall receive a report from the designee(s)

complying with the requirements of the report to the board of directors.

(f) Oversight of third-party service provider arrangements.

(1) An insurer shall exercise due diligence in selecting its third-party service provider; and

(2) An insurer shall take reasonable steps to request a third-party service provider to

implement appropriate administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect and secure the

information systems and nonpublic information that are accessible to, or held by, the third-party

service provider.

(g) Program adjustments. The insurer shall monitor, evaluate, and adjust, as appropriate,

the information security program consistent with any relevant changes in technology, the sensitivity

of its nonpublic information, internal or external threats to information, and the insurer's own

changing business arrangements, such as mergers and acquisitions, alliances and joint ventures,

outsourcing arrangements, and changes to information systems.

(h) Incident response plan:

(1) As part of its information security program, each insurer shall establish a written

incident response plan designed to promptly respond to, and recover from, any cybersecurity event

that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of nonpublic information in its

possession, the insurer's information systems, or the continuing functionality of any aspect of the

insurer's business or operations;.

(2) Such incident response plan shall address the following areas:

(i) The internal process for responding to a cybersecurity event;

(ii) The goals of the incident response plan;

(iii) The definition of clear roles, responsibilities, and levels of decision-making authority;

(iv) External and internal communications and information sharing;

(v) Identification of requirements for the remediation of any identified weaknesses in

information systems and associated controls;

(vi) Documentation and reporting regarding cybersecurity events and related incident

response activities; and

(vii) The evaluation and revision as necessary of the incident response plan following a

cybersecurity event.

(3) If the insurer learns that a cybersecurity event has or may have occurred, the insurer, or

an outside vendor and/or service provider designated to act on behalf of the insurer, shall conduct

a prompt investigation. For purposes of this section, “cybersecurity event” means an event resulting

in unauthorized access to, disruption or misuse of, an information system or nonpublic information

stored on such information system. This does not include the unauthorized acquisition of encrypted

nonpublic information if the encryption, process, or key is not also acquired, released, or used

without authorization. This also does not include an event with regard to which the insurer has

determined that the nonpublic information accessed by an unauthorized person has not been used

or released and has been returned or destroyed.

(i) During the investigation, the insurer, or an outside vendor and/or service provider

designated to act on behalf of the insurer, shall, at a minimum, determine as much of the following

information as possible:

(A) Whether a cybersecurity event has occurred;

(B) Assess the nature and scope of the cybersecurity event;

event; and

(D) Perform or oversee reasonable measures to restore the security of the information

systems compromised in the cybersecurity event in order to prevent further unauthorized

acquisition, release, or use of nonpublic information in the insurer's possession, custody, or control.

(ii) If the insurer learns that a cybersecurity event has or may have occurred in a system

maintained by a third-party service provider, and it has or may have impacted the insurer's

nonpublic information, the insurer shall make reasonable efforts to complete the steps set forth in

subsection (a) of this section or make reasonable efforts to confirm and document that the third-

party service provider has completed those steps.

(iii) The insurer shall maintain records concerning all cybersecurity events for a period of

at least five (5) years from the date of the cybersecurity event. The insurer shall produce those

records upon demand of the commissioner pursuant to chapter 13.1 of this title27 or other statutory

authority.

(i) Annually, each insurer domiciled in this state shall submit to the commissioner a written

statement by April 15 certifying that the insurer is in compliance with the requirements set forth in

this section. Each insurer shall maintain for examination by the department all records, schedules,

and data supporting this certificate for a period of five (5) years. To the extent an insurer has

identified areas, systems, or processes that require material improvement, updating or redesign, the

insurer shall document the identification and the remedial efforts planned and underway to address

such areas, systems, or processes. This documentation must be available for inspection by the

commissioner pursuant to a request under chapter 13.1 of this title27 or other statutory authority.

(j) If an insurer domiciled in this state has an information security program that is prepared

for and in compliance with Pub. L. No. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936, enacted August 21, 1996 (Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and related privacy, security, and breach notification

regulations pursuant to Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 160 and 164, and Pub. L. No. 111-5,

123 Stat. 226, enacted February 17, 2009 (Health Information Technology), insurers can rely on

that plan to certify their compliance with subsection (i) of this section.

27-1-47. Notification of a cybersecurity event.

(a) Each domestic insurer shall notify the commissioner as promptly as possible but in no

event later than three (3) business days from a determination that a cybersecurity event has occurred

when either of the following criteria has been met:

(1) A cybersecurity event impacting the insurer of which notice is required to be provided

to any government body, self-regulatory agency, or any other supervisory body pursuant to any

state or federal law; or

(2) A cybersecurity event that has a reasonable likelihood of materially harming:

(i) Any consumer residing in this state; or

(ii) Any material part of the normal operation(s) of the insurer.

(b) The insurer shall provide any information required by this section in electronic form as

directed by the commissioner. The insurer shall have a continuing obligation to update and

supplement initial and subsequent notifications to the commissioner concerning the cybersecurity

event. The insurer shall provide as much of the following information as possible. The insurer

should indicate whether it is making claims under chapter 2 of title 38 to any of the information

provided. The following information shall be provided:

(1) Date of the cybersecurity event;

(2) Description of how the information was exposed, lost, stolen, or breached, including

the specific roles and responsibilities of third-party service providers, if any;

(3) How the cybersecurity event was discovered;

(4) Whether any lost, stolen, or breached information has been recovered and if so, how

this recovery was achieved;

(5) The identity of the source of the cybersecurity event;

(6) Whether the insurer has filed a police report or has notified any regulatory, government,

or law enforcement agencies and, if so, when such notification was provided;

(7) Description of the specific types of information acquired without authorization.

Specific types of information consisting of particular data elements including, for example, types

of medical information, types of financial information, or types of information allowing

identification of the consumer;

(8) The period during which the information system was compromised by the cybersecurity

event;

(9) The number of total consumers in this state affected by the cybersecurity event. The

insurer shall provide the best estimate in the initial report to the commissioner and update this

estimate with each subsequent report to the commissioner pursuant to this section;

(10) The results of any internal review identifying a lapse in either automated controls or

internal procedures, or confirming that all automated controls or internal procedures were followed;

(11) Description of efforts being undertaken to remediate the situation whichthat permitted

the cybersecurity event to occur;

(12) A copy of the insurer privacy policy and a statement outlining the steps the insurer

will take to investigate and notify consumers affected by the cybersecurity event; and

(13) Name of a contact person who is both familiar with the cybersecurity event and

authorized to act for the insurer.

of the notice sent to consumers under that chapter to the commissioner, when an insurer is required

to notify the commissioner.

(d) Notice regarding cybersecurity events of third-party service providers:

(1) In the case of a cybersecurity event involving an insurer's nonpublic information in a

system maintained by a third-party service provider, of which the insurer has become aware, the

insurer shall treat that event as it would under subsection (a) of this section;

(2) The computation of the insurer's deadlines shall begin on the day after the third-party

service provider notifies the insurer of the cybersecurity event or the insurer otherwise has actual

knowledge of the cybersecurity event, whichever is sooner;

(3) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent or abrogate an agreement between an insurer and

another insurer, a third-party service provider, or any other party to fulfill any of the investigation

requirements or notice requirements imposed under this section.

(e) Notice regarding cybersecurity events of reinsurers to insurers:

(1)(i) In the case of a cybersecurity event involving nonpublic information that is used by

the insurer that is acting as an assuming insurer or in the possession, custody, or control of an

insurer that is acting as an assuming insurer and that does not have a direct contractual relationship

with the affected consumers, the assuming insurer shall notify its affected ceding insurers and the

commissioner of its state of domicile within seventy-two (72) hours of making the determination

that a cybersecurity event has occurred;

(ii) The ceding insurers that have a direct contractual relationship with affected consumers

shall fulfill the consumer notification requirements imposed under chapter 49.3 of title 11,

("identity theft protection act of 2015"), and any other notification requirements relating to a

cybersecurity event imposed under this section.

(2)(i) In the case of a cybersecurity event involving nonpublic information that is in the

possession, custody, or control of a third-party service provider of an insurer that is an assuming

insurer, the assuming insurer shall notify its affected ceding insurers and the commissioner of its

state of domicile within seventy-two (72) hours of receiving notice from its third-party service

provider that a cybersecurity event has occurred;

(ii) The ceding insurers that have a direct contractual relationship with affected consumers

shall fulfill the consumer notification requirements imposed under chapter 49.3 of title 11 and any

other notification requirements relating to a cybersecurity event imposed under this section.

(f) Notice regarding cybersecurity events of insurers to producers of record.

(1) In the case of a cybersecurity event involving nonpublic information that is in the

possession, custody, or control of an insurer that is an insurer or its third-party service provider and

for which a consumer accessed the insurer's services through an independent insurance producer,

the insurer shall notify the producers of record of all affected consumers as soon as practicable as

directed by the commissioner.

(2) The insurer is excused from this obligation for those instances in which it does not have

the current producer of record information for any individual consumer.

SECTION 3. Chapter 27-2 of the General Laws entitled "Foreign Insurance Companies"

is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:

27-2-29. Information security program.

(a) Commensurate with the size and complexity of an insurer, the nature and scope of an

insurersinsurer’s activities, including its use of third-party service providers, and the sensitivity of

the nonpublic information used by the insurer or in the insurer’s possession, custody, or control,

each foreign insurance company shall develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive written

information security program, based on the insurer's risk assessment and that contains

administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for the protection of nonpublic information and

the insurer's information system. For purposes of this section, “information security program”

means the administrative, technical, and physical safeguards that an insurer uses to access, collect,

distribute, process, protect, store, use, transmit, dispose of, or otherwise handle nonpublic

information. "Publicly available information" means any information that a licensee has a

reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general public from: federal, state, or

local government records; widely distributed media; or disclosures to the general public that are

required to be made by federal, state, or local law. “Nonpublic information” means information

that is not publicly available information and is:

(1) Business-related information of a licensee, the tampering with which, or unauthorized

disclosure, access, or use of which, would cause a material adverse impact to the business,

operations, or security of the licensee;

(2) Any information concerning a consumer which, because of name, number, personal

mark, or other identifier can be used to identify such consumer, in combination with any one or

more of the following data elements:

(i) Social security number;

(ii) Driver's license number or non-driver identification card number;

(iii) Account number, credit or debit card number;

(iv) Any security code, access code, or password that would permit access to a consumer's

financial account; or

(v) Biometric records;

(3) Any information or data, except age or gender, in any form or medium created by or

derived from a health carehealthcare provider or a consumer and that relates to:

(i) The past, present, or future physical, mental, behavioral health, or medical condition of

any consumer or a member of the consumer's family;

(ii) The provision of health care to any consumer; or

(iii) Payment for the provision of health care to any consumer,.

(b) Objectives of information security program. An insurer's information security program

shall be designed to:

(1) Protect the security and confidentiality of nonpublic information and the security of the

information system.;

(2) Protect against any threats or hazards to the security or integrity of nonpublic

information and the information system;

(3) Protect against unauthorized access to or use of nonpublic information, and minimize

the likelihood of harm to any consumer. For the purposes of this section, “consumer” means an

individual, including, but not limited to, applicants, policyholders, insureds, beneficiaries,

claimants, and certificate holders, who is a resident of this state and whose nonpublic information

is in an insurer’s possession, custody, or control.; and

(4) Define and periodically reevaluate a schedule for retention of nonpublic information

and a mechanism for its destruction when no longer needed.

(1) Designate one or more employees, an affiliate, or an outside vendor designated to act

on behalf of the insurer who is responsible for the information security program;

(2) Identify reasonably foreseeable internal or external threats that could result in

unauthorized access, transmission, disclosure, misuse, alteration, or destruction of nonpublic

information, including the security of information systems and nonpublic information that are

accessible to, or held by, third-party service providers. For purposes of this section, “third-party

service providers” means a person, not otherwise defined as a licensee, that contracts with a licensee

to maintain, process, store or otherwise is permitted access to nonpublic information through its

provision of services to the licensee;

(3) Assess the likelihood and potential damage of these threats, taking into consideration

the sensitivity of the nonpublic information;

(4) Assess the sufficiency of policies, procedures, information systems, and other

safeguards in place to manage these threats, including consideration of threats in each relevant area

of the insurer's operations, including:

(i) Employee training and management;

(ii) Information systems, including network and software design, as well as information

classification, governance, processing, storage, transmission, and disposal; and

(iii) Detecting, preventing, and responding to attacks, intrusions, or other systems failures;

and

(5) Implement information safeguards to manage the threats identified in its ongoing

assessment, and no less than annually, assess the effectiveness of the safeguards' key controls,

systems, and procedures.

(d) Risk management. Based on its risk assessment, the insurer shall:

(1) Design its information security program to mitigate the identified risks, commensurate

with the size and complexity of the insurer's activities, including its use of third-party service

providers, and the sensitivity of the nonpublic information used by the insurer or in the insurer's

possession, custody, or control;

(2) Determine which security measures listed below are appropriate and implement such

security measures:

(i) Place access controls on information systems, including controls to authenticate and

permit access only to authorized individuals to protect against the unauthorized acquisition of

nonpublic information. “Authorized individual” means an individual known to and screened by

the insurer and determined to be necessary and appropriate to have access to the nonpublic

information held by the insurer and its information systems;

(ii) Identify and manage the data, personnel, devices, systems, and facilities that enable the

organization to achieve business purposes in accordance with their relative importance to business

objectives and the organization's risk strategy;

(iii) Restrict access at physical locations containing nonpublic information only to

authorized individuals;

(iv) Protect, by encryption or other appropriate means, all nonpublic information while

being transmitted over an external network and all nonpublic information stored on a laptop

computer or other portable computing or storage device or media;

(v) Adopt secure development practices for in-house developed applications utilized by the

insurer and procedures for evaluating, assessing, or testing the security of externally developed

applications utilized by the insurer;