Press Release September 23, 2005 DC Insurance Commissioner Releases Study on Top US Insurance Companies' Privacy Compliance (Washington, DC) The Commissioner of DC's Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB), Lawrence Mirel, has released a report to Congress and the public on the findings of a national study on the privacy protection practices of more than 100 largest insurance groups in the U.S.   The District of Columbia was the lead jurisdiction for the extensive, nationwide study in cooperation with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) over a two-year period. PricewaterhouseCoopers acted as the lead consultant of this off-site study, which surveyed the privacy compliance practices of 112 of the largest property/casualty, life and health insurance groups in the US representing approximately 700 insurance companies.   The purpose of this multi-state uniform study is twofold-to ensure compliance of insurance companies with the privacy provisions of the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act) and state model laws and regulations, and to avoid duplicate and inconsistent market conduct examinations by different states where these insurance companies operate.   The insurance groups in the study were chosen based on their revenue sizes and industry areas. This preliminary aggregate report is based on results from 100 of the 112 total groups examined, or approximately 90% of the data. Each participating group was required to provide answers to 93 questions covering areas of privacy notices, customer opt-out of sharing their information, and safeguarding their records.   Commissioner Mirel is pleased with the overall level of compliance by the insurers. "Our report shows that the privacy of personal financial information is generally well protected by the insurance industry," Mirel said. Highlights of the study's findings include: There is significant compliance with the privacy provisions of both the GLB Act and with model laws and regulations. There were only 273 write-ups out of a possible total of 9,300. The greatest non-conformity area, about 58% of the write-ups, related to the customer's right to correct personal information. Insurers generally had no problem with opt-out notices or elections. A few companies are still being analyzed and are anticipated to be completed within 60-90 days. DISB does not expect their results to significantly change the overall findings.   To obtain a copy of the preliminary report, please contact Lily Qi, Public Information Officer, DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, at (202) 442-7820, or lily.qi@dc.gov. Individual company reports are also available upon request.