Vermont Considers Self-Audit Bill

A bill designed to protect information gleaned from the internal audit process of insurance companies was recently introduced in the Vermont legislature.

H.B. 191, introduced by Reps. Hube and Crawford, defines self-audit information as any data resulting from voluntary, internal evaluation, review or assessment, including the written response to the findings of an insurance compliance audit, and creates a self-critical analysis privilege to protect the confidentiality of the information.

The information can be submitted to the insurance commissioner upon request, but would be treated as a confidential document.

“NAII has been working with the Vermont insurance department for the past six months to develop a workable solution to the self-audit issue,” he said. “We’re very pleased that Reps. Hube and Crawford see the value in insurers conducting these critical audits on their internal processes.”

“Such self-audit bills protect insurers from third-party lawsuits, while enabling the insurance department to examine the results,” Zimmerman said. “This ability frees up the insurance department to focus on concerns such as solvency and market conduct and allows insurers to help police themselves.”