§ 58-39-27. Privacy notice and disclosure requirement exceptions.
§ 58‑39‑27. Privacy notice and disclosure requirement exceptions.
(a) Under G.S. 58‑39‑25and G.S. 58‑39‑26, an insurance institution or agent may provide ajoint notice from the insurance institution or agent and one or more of itsaffiliates or other financial institutions, as defined in the notice, as longas the notice is accurate with respect to the insurance institution or agentand the other institutions.
(b) An insuranceinstitution or agent may satisfy the notice requirements of G.S. 58‑39‑25and G.S. 58‑39‑26 by providing a single notice if two or moreapplicants or policyholders jointly obtain or apply for an insurance product.
(c) An insuranceinstitution or agent may satisfy the notice requirements of G.S. 58‑39‑25and G.S. 58‑39‑26 through the use of separate or combined notices.
(d) An insuranceinstitution or agent is not required to provide the notices required by G.S. 58‑39‑25and G.S. 58‑39‑26 to:
(1) Any applicant orpolicyholder whose last known address, according to the insurance institution'sor agent's records is deemed invalid. The applicant's or policyholder's lastknown address shall be deemed invalid if mail sent to that address has beenreturned by the postal authorities as undeliverable and if subsequentreasonable attempts to obtain a current valid address for the applicant orpolicyholder have been unsuccessful; or
(2) Any policyholderwhose policy is lapsed, expired, or otherwise inactive or dormant under theinsurance institution's business practices, and the insurance institution hasnot communicated with the policyholder about the relationship for a period of12 consecutive months, other than annual privacy notices, material required bylaw or regulation, or promotional materials.
(e) If an agent doesnot share information with any person other than the agent's principal or anaffiliate of the principal, and if the principal provides all notices requiredby G.S. 58‑39‑25 and G.S. 58‑39‑26, the agent is notrequired to provide the notices required by G.S. 58‑39‑25 and G.S.58‑39‑26. G.S. 58‑39‑75 applies to the sharing ofinformation with an affiliate under this subsection.
(f) When an agentdiscloses a policyholder's personal information, other than medicalinformation, to an insurance institution solely for the purposes of renewal,transfer, replacement, reinstatement, or modification of an existing policy,the agent is not required to provide the notices required by G.S. 58‑39‑25and G.S. 58‑39‑26.
(g) For the purposes ofG.S. 58‑39‑26 only, the terms "applicant" or"policyholder" include respectively a person who applies for, or acertificate holder who obtains, insurance coverage under a group or blanketinsurance contract, employee benefit plan, or group annuity contract,regardless of whether the coverage is individually underwritten. An insuranceinstitution or agent that does not disclose personal information about anapplicant or policyholder under a group or blanket insurance contract, employeebenefit plan, or group annuity contract, except as permitted under G.S. 58‑39‑75(1)through (10) and G.S. 58‑39‑75(12) through (21), may satisfy anynotice requirement that otherwise exists under G.S. 58‑39‑26 withrespect to that applicant or policyholder by providing a notice of informationpractices to the holder of the group or blanket insurance or annuity contractor the employee benefit plan sponsor. If an insurance institution or agentdiscloses personal information about an applicant or policyholder as permittedby G.S. 58‑39‑75(11), it shall provide the notice required by G.S.58‑39‑26 to the applicant or policyholder not less than 30 daysbefore the information is disclosed, and it may satisfy any other noticerequirement that otherwise exists under this section with respect to thatapplicant or policyholder by providing a notice of information practices to theholder of the group or blanket insurance or annuity contract or employeebenefit plan sponsor. (2001‑351, s. 5; 2003‑262, s. 2(1).)