Florida Senate - 2017                      CS for CS for SB 1768
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Banking and Insurance; and Senator Lee
       
       
       
       
       585-04365-17                                          20171768c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         324.242, F.S.; revising an exemption from public
    4         records requirements to exempt certain information of
    5         insureds and former insureds held by the Department of
    6         Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles regarding insurance
    7         policies providing any of specified coverages;
    8         conforming a provision to changes made by the act;
    9         providing for future legislative review and repeal of
   10         the exemption; providing a statement of public
   11         necessity; providing a contingent effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Section 324.242, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   16  read:
   17         324.242 Personal injury protection, medical payments,
   18  bodily injury liability, and property damage liability insurance
   19  policies; public records exemption.—
   20         (1) The personal identifying information and an insurance
   21  policy number of an insured or former insured which are the
   22  following information regarding personal injury protection and
   23  property damage liability insurance policies held by the
   24  department regarding insurance policies providing any of the
   25  following coverages are is confidential and exempt from s.
   26  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution:
   27         (a) Medical payments coverage Personal identifying
   28  information of an insured or former insured; and
   29         (b) Bodily injury liability coverage; An insurance policy
   30  number.
   31         (c) Property damage liability coverage; or
   32         (d) For policies entered into before January 1, 2018,
   33  personal injury protection coverage.
   34         (2) Upon receipt of a request and proof of a crash report
   35  as required under s. 316.065, s. 316.066, or s. 316.068, or a
   36  crash report created pursuant to the laws of another state, the
   37  department shall release the policy number for a policy covering
   38  a vehicle involved in a motor vehicle accident to:
   39         (a) Any person involved in such accident;
   40         (b) The attorney of any person involved in such accident;
   41  or
   42         (c) A representative of the insurer of any person involved
   43  in such accident.
   44         (3) The department shall provide personal injury protection
   45  and property damage liability insurance policy numbers to
   46  department-approved third parties that provide data collection
   47  services to an insurer of any person involved in such accident.
   48         (4) Before the department’s release of a policy number in
   49  accordance with subsection (2) or subsection (3), an insurer’s
   50  representative, a contracted third party, or an attorney for a
   51  person involved in an accident must provide the department with
   52  documentation confirming proof of representation.
   53         (5) Information made confidential and exempt by this
   54  section may be disclosed to another governmental entity without
   55  a written request or copy of the crash report if disclosure is
   56  necessary for the receiving governmental entity to perform its
   57  duties and responsibilities. For purposes of this subsection,
   58  the term “governmental entity” means any federal, state, county,
   59  district, authority, or municipal officer, department, division,
   60  board, bureau, or commission created or established by law.
   61         (6) This exemption applies to personal identifying
   62  information of an insured or former insured and insurance policy
   63  numbers held by the department before, on, or after October 11,
   64  2007.
   65         (7) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   66  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   67  on October 2, 2022, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   68  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   69         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   70  necessity to make confidential and exempt from the requirements
   71  of s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of
   72  the State Constitution the personal identifying information and
   73  insurance policy numbers of an insured or former insured which
   74  are held by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
   75  regarding insurance policies providing medical payments
   76  coverage; bodily injury liability coverage; property damage
   77  liability coverage; or, for policies entered into before January
   78  1, 2018, personal injury protection coverage. In order to ensure
   79  public safety on the roads and highways of this state, it is
   80  imperative that automobile drivers be properly insured for
   81  liability for bodily injury and damage to real property and be
   82  properly insured for personal medical expenses. As such,
   83  insurers are required to report to the department and verify the
   84  issuance to a driver of a new policy as well as the renewal,
   85  nonrenewal, or cancellation of that policy. Such information
   86  includes the personal identifying information of an insured or
   87  former insured as well as the insurance policy number of the
   88  insured. If this information is compiled, it could result in a
   89  customer list of every insurer in the state. Customer lists
   90  contain detailed client and policy information that is
   91  traditionally considered proprietary business information
   92  because such lists could be used by competitors to solicit
   93  customers. Consequently, the release of that information could
   94  injure the insurer in the marketplace by diminishing the
   95  advantage that the insurer maintains over those who do not
   96  possess such information. Further, public access to such
   97  information could be used to perpetuate fraud against an insured
   98  and put him or her at risk or to make the insured the target of
   99  uninvited solicitations from other insurers or from others
  100  seeking to profit from motor vehicle accidents.
  101         Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that
  102  SB 1766 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
  103  is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
  104  thereof and becomes a law.