BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, FINANCE,
AND INSURANCE
Senator Ronald Calderon, Chair
AB 470 (Niello) Hearing Date: June 17, 2009
As Introduced February 24, 2009
Fiscal: No
Urgency: No
SUMMARY Authorizes an insurance institution, agent, or
insurance-support organization to disclose information to an
insured's lawyer from an accident report, supplemental report,
investigative report or the actual report from a governmental
agency or which is a copy of an accident or other report which
the insured is entitled to obtain under specified provisions of
the Vehicle Code or Government Code.
DIGEST
Existing law
1. Sets forth the Insurance Information and Privacy Act (IIPA)
which sets standards for the for the collection, use and
disclosure of information gathered in connection with insurance
transactions and seeks to maintain a balance between the need
for information by those in the insurance business and the
public's need for fairness in information handling and the need
to minimize intrusiveness.
2. The IIPA Prohibits an insurance institution, agent, or
insurance-support organization from disclosing personal or
privileged information about an individual collected or received
in connection with an insurance transaction, subject to
specified exceptions.
3. The disclosure of such information to an insured is authorized
under the IIPA if it is from an accident report, supplemental
report, investigative report or the actual report from a
governmental agency or which is a copy of an accident or other
report which the insured is entitled to obtain under specified
provisions of the Vehicle Code or Government Code.
AB 470, Page 2
4. Authorizes disclosure of various types of information in police
and similar reports to persons involved in the incidents
reported upon or to their authorized representatives.
This bill
1. Would amend the Insurance Information and Privacy Act to
allow an insurance institution, agent or insurance-support
organization to disclose to an insured's lawyer the same
kinds of accident report related classes of information
which are currently authorized to be disclosed to the
insured.
COMMENTS
1. Purpose of the bill This bill is intended to remove an
impediment to the prompt settlement of insurance claims
where an insured is represented by a lawyer.
2. Background According to the sponsor, the Civil Justice
Association of California, the Insurance Information and
Privacy Act has as its purpose protecting an individual's
privacy, but there is no compelling privacy reason to
require insurance companies to withhold from their insured's
lawyer this kind of claim-related information that can be
released to the insured.
3. Support . Civil Justice Association of California
4. Opposition None
5. Questions None
6. Suggested Amendments None
7. Prior Legislation The authorization in the IIPA for an
insurance institution, an agent or an insurance-support
organization to release this police-report related
information was added in 2006 by AB 1847, a Senate Banking,
Finance and Insurance Committee bill that was chaptered as
AB 470, Page 3
Chapter 405, Statutes of 2006. This bill simply extends the
concept to permit the currently allowed disclosure from the
insured to the insured's lawyer.
POSITIONS
Support
Civil Justice Association of California
Oppose
None
Consultant: Kenneth Cooley, (916) 651-4102