The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' proposals to create a new database of insurance industry market conduct information have raised confidentiality concerns from industry representatives.

At the spring meeting of the NAIC earlier this month, NAIC official Tim Mullen said the Kansas City-based organization has conducted a feasibility study on how to improve the quality of the market conduct data currently collected.

The study raised the issue of the accuracy of data gathered not only from the traditional financial annual statement but the recently created market conduct annual statement.

In addition to looking at ways of improving the way the data is collected, the NAIC is also studying new forms of transactional data which could relate to claims information and premium factors as well as information collected from collaborative agencies such as the Insurance Services Office.

In addition, the study looked at how at the present time, the 17 states involved in the market conduct annual statement project collect their own data independently.

“Currently, the states collect the data and do their analysis and bring it to the Market Analyst Working Group,” said Don Cleasby, assistant general counsel for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).

NAIC officials have brought up the concept of the NAIC itself collecting the data–a possibility raised in the study.

“And this raises the question of what happens to trade-secret protections under state law. If you send it to the NAIC, do those protections follow?” Mr. Cleasby asked.

According to Mr. Mullen, the study made recommendations in three areas: data quality improvement; need for a centralized data repository; and the need to study collection of new data elements.

Mr. Mullen said the legal issue of confidentiality was not raised in the study.

Market Regulation Committee Chairman and Washington Commissioner Mike Kriedler said he would study the new data repository issue from cost-benefit and confidentiality standpoints.

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