ACT Report: Safeguard Client Info

NU Online News Service, Dec. 8, 11:00 a.m. EST?New legal requirements call for independent insurance agents and brokers to put a specific focus on keeping their clients' information private, a report said.[@@]

"Safeguarding Non-Public Personal Information," is a new report from the Agents Council for Technology addressing privacy issues.

ACT is a forum for agent and industry associations, user groups, companies and vendors to address critical technology and workflow issues facing the independent agency system. It is sponsored by the Alexandria, Va.-based Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.

New privacy laws and regulations, such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), Gramm-Leach-Bliley, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and state regulations, may require adjustments in insurance agency operations to meet the new requirements, the report said.

Jeff Yates, ACT executive director, said agents and brokers need to be aware of the new regulations and their impact on their operations, and instruct and train staff accordingly.

The report's aim is to familiarize agents and brokers with privacy issues and get them started with a compliance plan, said Chris Ball, a principal of InSource Inc., in Miami, and chairman of the ACT work group that developed the report. It also prepares producers for a privacy audit.

Some key principles outlined in the report for producers to consider:

? Developing an overall policy designed to comply with various privacy laws rather than trying to adopt multiple policies based upon the requirements of each law.

? Appointing a privacy officer who has a good knowledge of overall agency operations and charging that individual with developing a detailed understanding of the various privacy laws.

? Appointing a security officer to oversee the agency's security policies and procedures to protect the agency's information from both external and internal threats, whether the information is in electronic or paper form, or conveyed orally.

? Limiting some information to only those employees who need to see it.

? Auditing and documenting the implementation of privacy policies and procedures to measure the policy's success and to provide an audit trail.

The report with a new companion publication "ACT HIPAA and Privacy Supplement," is available for downloading through www.independentagentagent.com/act under the "Technology Reports" section. More information on ACT is available by contacting Jeff Yates at (800) 221-7917 or jeff.yates@iiaba.net.

Special Reports /

ACT Report: Safeguard Client Info

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