Allows domestic insurers to make certain records available by electronic means

• Democratic1

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Robert Jackson says this is needed

This bill would modernize the record keeping requirements mandated by 325 of the Insurance Law. The bill authorizes domestic insurers to provide the Department of Financial Services with access, "through elec- tronic means", to various records, including its charter, by-laws, and books of account, that current law requires insurers to keep and main- tain in their principal office in the state. Currently, the Department of Financial Services requires domestic insur- ers, upon examination, to maintain documents at their principal office; The documents may be maintained in paper form or keep on a durable medi- um, such as a floppy disk or flash drive. This requirement is no longer necessary to ensure proper accountability and transparency, and the proposed amendment seeks to maintain both. The bill does not change in any way the legal requirement that insurers maintain certain records. The bill does not change what documents must be maintained and it does not change the timeline by which they must be provided to the Department. It only changes the means by which insurers are authorized to keep and maintain the records. The practice of maintaining documents in a physical location, where they can easily be damaged or stolen, has become outdated and is no longer the most secure means by which documents can be safeguarded. Electronic storage on servers, or in cloud-based platforms, has significantly increased the security of stored documents. The internet has provided a means by which these documents may be transmitted to the Department of Financial Services that is remarkedly more efficient. The Department has recognized the value of providing documents electronically, and often times requires insurers to file or transmit documents and reports by email or through web portals. This statutory change will allow domestic insurers and the Department of Financial Services to be more efficient and in line with the current state of technology.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.