(a) Documents, materials, or information in the department's control or possession that are furnished by a licensee, or an employee or agent acting on behalf of the licensee, pursuant to § 56-2-1004(9) or § 56-2-1006(b), or that are obtained by the commissioner in connection with an investigation or examination pursuant to § 56-2-1007: (1) Are confidential and not open for inspection by members of the public under title 10, chapter 7 or § 56-1-602; and(2) Are not subject to subpoena, subject to discovery, or admissible in evidence in a private civil action, except that the commissioner may use the documents, materials, or information in the furtherance of regulatory or legal action by the commissioner.(b) The commissioner, or a person who received documents, materials, or information while acting under the authority of the commissioner, is not permitted or required to testify in a private civil action concerning documents, materials, or information made confidential under subsection (a).(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a), to assist in the commissioner's duties under this part, the commissioner may: (1) Share documents, materials, or information made confidential under subsection (a).(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a), to assist in the commissioner's duties under this part, the commissioner may: (1) Share documents, materials, or information made confidential under subsection (a) with other state, federal, or international regulatory agencies or law enforcement authorities, the national association of insurance commissioners or its affiliates or subsidiaries, or a third-party consultant or vendor of the department, as long as the recipient agrees in writing to maintain the confidential nature of the documents, materials, or information;(2) Receive documents, materials, or information, including otherwise confidential documents, materials, or information, from the national association of insurance commissioners or its affiliates or subsidiaries, or from regulatory or law enforcement officials of other foreign or domestic jurisdictions, and the commissioner must maintain as confidential any document, material, or information received with notice or the understanding that it is confidential under the laws of the source jurisdiction; and(3) Enter into agreements governing sharing and use of documents, materials, or information consistent with this subsection nding that it is confidential under the laws of the source jurisdiction; and(3) Enter into agreements governing sharing and use of documents, materials, or information consistent with this subsection (c).(d) A waiver of an applicable privilege or confidentiality does not occur as a result of the disclosure of documents, materials, or information by or to the commissioner under subsection (c).(e) This part does not prohibit the commissioner from releasing final, adjudicated actions open to public inspection under title 10, chapter 7 or § 56-1-602 to a database or other clearinghouse service maintained by the national association of insurance commissioners or its affiliates or subsidiaries.Added by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 345, s 1, eff. 7/1/2021.
Tennessee Legal Code