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Ins 25.77   Relationship to federal rules.
Ins 25.80   Insurers and agents compliance with s. 610.70, Stats.
Subchapter VI — Additional Provisions
Ins 25.90   Nondiscrimination.
Ins 25.95   Effective date.
Subchapter I — General Provisions
Ins 25.01Authority. This chapter is promulgated pursuant to the authority granted by ss. 601.41 (3), 610.70, 628.34 (12), and 633.17, Stats.
History: Cr. Register, June, 2001, No. 546, eff. 7-1-01.
Ins 25.02Purpose and scope.
(1)Purposes. This chapter governs the treatment of nonpublic personal health information and nonpublic personal financial information about individuals by all licensees of the office of the commissioner of insurance except to the extent that a licensee is excepted from a provision of this chapter. This chapter does all of the following:
(a) It requires a licensee to provide notice to individuals about its privacy policies and practices.
(b) It describes the conditions under which a licensee may disclose nonpublic personal health information and nonpublic personal financial information about individuals to affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties.
(c) It provides methods for individuals to prevent a licensee from disclosing that information.
(2)Compliance. This chapter applies to:
(a) Nonpublic personal financial information about individuals who obtain or are beneficiaries of products or services primarily for personal, family or household purposes from licensees, about individuals who are beneficiaries under group health plans and claimants under workers’ compensation policies, and about individuals who are third-party claimants against products or services obtained for business, commercial or agricultural purposes. This chapter does not apply to information about companies or about individuals who obtain products or services for business, commercial or agricultural purposes; and
(b) All nonpublic personal health information about individuals who obtain or are beneficiaries of products or services primarily for personal, family or household purposes from licensees, about individuals who are beneficiaries under group health plans and claimants under workers’ compensation policies, and about individuals who are third-party claimants against products or services obtained for business, commercial or agricultural purposes, except to the extent the information is subject to s. 51.30, 146.81 to 146.84 or 610.70, Stats.
(3)Extra-territorial application. A licensee domiciled in this state that is in compliance with this chapter in a state that has not enacted laws or regulations that meet the requirements of Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (PL 102-106) is in compliance with Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in such other state.
History: Cr. Register, June, 2001, No. 546, eff. 7-1-01.
Ins 25.03Rule of construction. The examples in this chapter and the sample clauses in Appendix A of this chapter are not exclusive. Compliance with an example or use of a sample clause, to the extent applicable, constitutes compliance with this chapter.
History: Cr. Register, June, 2001, No. 546, eff. 7-1-01.
Ins 25.04Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:
(1)“Affiliate” means any company that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with another company.
(a) “Clear and conspicuous” means that a notice is reasonably understandable and designed to call attention to the nature and significance of the information in the notice.
(b) The following are examples of the application of “clear and conspicuous:”
1. ‘Reasonably understandable.’ A licensee makes its notice reasonably understandable if it does all of the following:
a. Presents the information in the notice in clear, concise sentences, paragraphs, and sections.
b. Uses short explanatory sentences or bullet lists whenever possible.
c. Uses definite, concrete, everyday words and active voice whenever possible.
d. Avoids multiple negatives.
e. Avoids legal and highly technical business terminology whenever possible.
f. Avoids explanations that are imprecise and readily subject to different interpretations.
2. ‘Designed to call attention.’ A licensee designs its notice to call attention to the nature and significance of the information in it if the licensee does all of the following:
a. Uses a plain-language heading to call attention to the notice.
b. Uses typeface and type sizes that are easy to read.
c. Provides wide margins and ample line spacing.
d. Uses boldface or italics for key words.
e. In a form that combines the licensee’s notice with other information, uses distinctive type size, style, and graphic devices, such as shading or sidebars.
3. ‘Notices on web sites.’ If a licensee provides a notice on a web page, the licensee designs its notice to call attention to the nature and significance of the information in it if the licensee uses text or visual cues to encourage scrolling down the page if necessary to view the entire notice and ensures that other elements on the web site, such as text, graphics, hyperlinks or sound, do not distract attention from the notice, and the licensee does any of the following:
a. Places the notice on a screen that consumers frequently access, such as a page on which transactions are conducted.
b. Places a link on a screen that consumers frequently access, such as a page on which transactions are conducted, that connects directly to the notice and is labeled appropriately to convey the importance, nature and relevance of the notice.
(3)“Collect” means to obtain information that the licensee organizes or can retrieve by the name of an individual or by identifying number, symbol or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, irrespective of the source of the underlying information.
(4)“Commissioner” means the commissioner of insurance.
(5)“Company” means a corporation, limited liability company, business trust, general or limited partnership, association, sole proprietorship or similar organization.
(a) “Consumer” means an individual about whom a licensee has nonpublic personal information, who:
1. Seeks to obtain, obtains or has obtained an insurance product or service from a licensee that is to be used primarily for personal, family or household purposes;
2. Is a claimant under a workers’ compensation policy;
3. Is insured under a group health plan; or
4. Is a third-party claimant under an insurance product or service obtained for business, commercial or agricultural purposes,.
(b) The following are examples of consumers:
1. An individual who provides nonpublic personal information to a licensee in connection with obtaining or seeking to obtain financial, investment or economic advisory services relating to an insurance product or service is a consumer regardless of whether the licensee establishes an ongoing advisory relationship.
2. An applicant for insurance prior to the inception of insurance coverage is a licensee’s consumer.
3. An individual is a licensee’s consumer if all of the following conditions exist:
a. The individual is a beneficiary of a life insurance policy underwritten by the licensee, a claimant under an insurance policy issued by the licensee, a named insured or an annuitant under an insurance policy or an annuity, respectively, issued by the licensee, or a mortgagor of a mortgage covered under a mortgage insurance policy.
b. The licensee discloses nonpublic personal financial information about the individual to a nonaffiliated third party other than as permitted under ss. Ins 25.50, 25.55, and 25.60.
(c) The following are examples of individuals who are not consumers:
1. Provided that the licensee provides the initial notice under s. Ins 25.10 to the plan sponsor, group or blanket insurance policyholder, group annuity contract-holder, or workers’ compensation policyholder and that the licensee does not disclose to a nonaffiliated third party nonpublic personal financial information about such an individual other than as permitted under ss. Ins 25.50, 25.55, and 25.60, an individual is not the consumer of the licensee solely because the individual is any of the following:
a. A participant or a beneficiary of an employee benefit plan that the licensee administers or sponsors or for which the licensee acts as a trustee, insurer or fiduciary.
b. Covered under a group or blanket insurance policy or group annuity contract issued by the licensee.
c. A claimant under a workers’ compensation policy.
a. The individuals described in subd. 1. a. to c. are consumers of a licensee if the licensee does not meet all the conditions of subd. 1.
b. In no event shall the individuals, solely by virtue of the status described in subd. 1. a. to c., be deemed to be customers for purposes of this chapter.
3. An individual is not a licensee’s consumer solely because he or she is a beneficiary of a trust for which the licensee is a trustee.
4. An individual is not a licensee’s consumer solely because he or she has designated the licensee as trustee for a trust.
5. An individual who is a consumer of another financial institution is not a licensee’s consumer solely because the licensee is acting as agent for, or provides processing or other services to, that financial institution.
(d) “Consumer” includes the legal representative of an individual who is a consumer.
(7)“Consumer reporting agency” has the same meaning as in Section 603(f) of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 USC 1681a(f)).
(8)“Control” means any of the following:
(a) Ownership, control or power to vote 25 % or more of the outstanding shares of any class of voting security of the company, directly or indirectly, or acting through one or more other persons.
(b) Control in any manner over the election of a majority of the directors, trustees or general partners, or individuals exercising similar functions, of the company or by an agreement establishing an attorney in fact for a reciprocal as defined by s. 600.03 (41), Stats.
(c) The power to exercise, directly or indirectly, a controlling influence over the management or policies of the company.
(9)“Customer” means a consumer who has a customer relationship with a licensee.
(a) “Customer relationship” means a continuing relationship between a consumer and a licensee under which the licensee provides one or more insurance products or services to the consumer that are to be used primarily for personal, family or household purposes.
(b) The following are examples relating to customer relationship:.
1. A consumer has a continuing relationship with a licensee if any of the following conditions exist:
a. The consumer is a current policyholder of an insurance product issued by or through the licensee.
b. The consumer obtains financial, investment or economic advisory services relating to an insurance product or service from the licensee for a fee.
2. A consumer does not have a continuing relationship with a licensee under any of the following conditions:
a. The consumer applies for insurance but does not purchase the insurance.
b. The licensee sells the consumer airline travel insurance in an isolated transaction.
c. The consumer is no longer a current policyholder of an insurance product or no longer obtains insurance services with or through the licensee.
d. The consumer is a beneficiary or claimant under a policy and has submitted a claim under that policy, choosing a settlement option involving an ongoing relationship with the licensee.
e. The consumer is a beneficiary or a claimant under a policy and has submitted a claim under that policy, choosing a lump sum settlement option.
f. The customer’s policy is lapsed, expired, or otherwise inactive or dormant under the licensee’s business practices, and the licensee has not communicated with the customer about the relationship for a period of twelve consecutive months, other than annual privacy notices, material required by law or regulation, communication at the direction of a state or federal authority, or promotional materials.
g. The consumer is an insured or an annuitant under an insurance policy or annuity, respectively, but is not the policyholder or owner of the insurance policy or annuity.
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Published under s. 35.93, Stats. Updated on the first day of each month. Entire code is always current. The Register date on each page is the date the chapter was last published.