Insurance industry representatives have expressed concerns about confidentiality in a new disaster reporting system recently granted preliminary approval by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

At the group's winter meeting in San Antonio earlier this month, the Disaster Reporting Working Group approved a planned multistate approach to disaster reporting of insurance data coordinated though the NAIC.

According to the working group, the Disaster Reporting System aims to streamline data reporting and prevent redundant requests for the purpose of identifying solvency and market conduct issues at an early date and assisting policymakers reacting to the disaster.

Industry lobbyists maintain that data collected by a nongovernmental organization such as the NAIC could be open to inspection by the public including members of the trial bar.

Rey Becker, vice president of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said the states have attempted to remedy the concern, but no law currently exists that codifies the status of the NAIC in regard to this issue.

“With all due respect, it is questionable whether confidentiality agreements between and among states or between and among the NAIC and one or more states can fill that gap,” he said.

West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline said the DRS was created in response to concerns of catastrophe-impacted regulators seeking to streamline the process “to get the data they needed to be responsive.”

NAIC executive vice president and chief executive officer Catherine Weatherford said that no data is collected and centralized without regulators' belief that confidentiality can be maintained.

Mr. Becker also said nothing in the proposal requires uniformity or consistency in the requested data elements between and among the participating states.

Special Reports /

NAIC Disaster Report Scheme Worries Insurers

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