Florida Adopts Emergency Privacy Rule

By E.e. Mazier

July 05, 2001 at 08:00 PM

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NU Online News Service, July 5, 5:09 p.m. – Florida insurance regulators say they are adopting an emergency consumer privacy rule to meet the July 1 privacy compliance deadline set by the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act.

The emergency rule will be in effect for 90 days, while the department moves ahead with developing a final privacy rule, a department representative says.

The department hopes to take written and oral comments, develop a proposed final rule, hold a public hearing, and promulgate a final rule within the next 90 days, the representative says.

The Florida emergency rule is similar to the model regulation on financial and health information privacy developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo., the representative says

State legislation that was signed into law June 1 requires the department to comply with both Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the NAIC regulatory model, according to the department representative.

The emergency rule applies to private personal financial and health information about individuals who are claimants or beneficiaries of products provided by entities regulated by the insurance department.

Regulated entities can require consumers to opt out of arrangements for sharing financial information, but regulated entities may disclose health information only if consumers opt in to arrangements for sharing health information.

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