(a)Upon written request to an insurer by officers designated in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 830.1 and subdivision (a) of Section 830.2, and subdivisions (a), (c), and (i) of Section 830.3 of the Penal Code, an insurer, or agent authorized by that insurer to act on behalf of the insurer, shall release to the requesting authorized governmental agency any or all relevant information deemed important to the authorized governmental agency that the insurer may possess relating to any specific insurance fraud. Relevant information may include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1)Insurance policy information relevant to the insurance fraud under investigation, including, but not limited to, any application for a policy.
(2)Policy premium payment records which are available.
(3)History of previous claims made by the insured.
(4)Information relating to the investigation of the insurance fraud, including statements of any person, proof of loss, and notice of loss.
(5)Complete copies of both sides of payment drafts.
(b)The provisions of subdivision (a) shall not operate to authorize disclosure of medical information not otherwise authorized for disclosure pursuant to law.
(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 843, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2001.)
Any information acquired pursuant to this article shall not be a part of any public record. Except as otherwise provided by law, any authorized governmental agency, an insurer, or an agent authorized by an insurer to act on its behalf, which receives any information furnished pursuant to this article, shall not release that information to public inspection until the time that its release is required in connection with a criminal or civil proceeding.
(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1119, Sec. 3.)
In the absence of fraud or malice, no insurer, or any employee or agent authorized by an insurer to act on behalf of the insurer, and no authorized governmental agency or its respective employees, shall be subject to any civil liability for libel, slander, or any other relevant cause of action by virtue of releasing or receiving any information pursuant to Section 1873 or 1873.1. Nothing in this article is intended to, nor does in any way or manner, abrogate or lessen the existing common law or statutory privileges and immunities of an insurer, or any employee or agent authorized by the insurer to act on behalf of the insurer, or of any authorized governmental agency or its respective employees.
(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1119, Sec. 3.)
(a)For purposes of this article and Article 2 (commencing with Section 1872), ?insurance fraud? does not include motor vehicle theft and motor vehicle insurance fraud reporting subject to the provisions of Article 4 (commencing with Section 1874), or workers? compensation insurance fraud reporting subject to Article 7 (commencing with Section 1877).
(b)As used in this article, ?authorized governmental agency? means the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Insurance, the Department of Justice, the police department of a city, or a city and county, the sheriff?s office or department of a county, the district attorney of any county, or city and county, those agencies employing officers designated in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 830.1, subdivision (a) of Section 830.2, and subdivisions (b), (d), and (k) of Section 830.3 of the Penal Code, any other law enforcement agency of this state or any city or county, or city and county, and any licensing agency governed by the Business and Professions Code.
(Amended by Stats. 1991, Ch. 116, Sec. 18.)
Any or all information released or received by an authorized governmental entity pursuant to Section 1873 or 1873.1 shall be provided by that agency to the Fraud Division within 10 days of the agency?s receipt of the information.
(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 717, Sec. 13. Effective January 1, 2006.)