Law / United States / 
Minnesota
Minnesota Insurance Fair Information Reporting Act
Officially Minnesota Insurance Fair Information Reporting Act: notice, access and correction, adverse underwriting decisions and disclosure limits
Minn. Stat. §§ 72A.49 to 72A.505
In force since .
A data subject rights rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Disclosure, Data subject rights, Consent
As of .
What it requires
- If you are an insurer or insurance agent, give each applicant and policyholder a written notice of your information practices when the application is made, or at delivery of the policy or certificate where personal information is collected only from the applicant or from public records; a group policy that is not individually underwritten needs no notice, and you may give an abbreviated notice that says the full notice will be furnished on request.
- Do not obtain information in connection with an insurance transaction by pretending to be someone else, pretending to represent a person, misrepresenting the true purpose of the interview, or refusing to provide identification on request.
- Specify any questions you ask solely for marketing or research purposes and state that answers are not required to obtain coverage.
- Do not prepare or request an investigative consumer report for an application, renewal, reinstatement or change in benefits unless you tell the person that they may ask to be interviewed and may receive a copy of the report on request.
- On a written request after proper identification, tell the individual within 30 business days the nature and substance of the personal information you hold, let them see and copy it, and disclose the identity of those to whom you disclosed it within the previous two years; a privileged-information claim, or information collected in anticipation of a claim or proceeding, is outside this right.
- Within 30 business days of a written request to correct, amend or delete personal information, either do so or tell the individual in writing that you refuse, why, and that they may file a concise statement of disagreement and appeal to the commissioner of commerce.
- After an adverse underwriting decision, give the applicant, policyholder or individual proposed for coverage the specific reasons in writing together with a summary of their access and correction rights, and, on request, the specific items of personal and privileged information that support the reasons and their sources, unless you reasonably suspect criminal activity, fraud, material misrepresentation or material nondisclosure.
- Do not seek information about a previous adverse underwriting decision, or a previous residual market placement, unless the inquiry also asks for the reasons, and do not base an adverse underwriting decision on the fact of an earlier one.
- Use a disclosure authorization that is in plain language, dated, and specifies the types of persons authorized to disclose, the nature of the information, the insurer or agent, the purposes of collection and how long it remains valid.
- Do not disclose personal or privileged information about a person collected or received in connection with an insurance transaction without the person's authorization unless section 72A.502 allows it, and do not collect personal information about a policyholder or applicant that does not relate to a claim from sources other than public records without an authorization.
- Notify the person in writing within ten days when you disclose personal or privileged information that required their written authorization, naming the recipient and the nature and substance of the information.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
Section 72A.504 makes knowingly and willfully obtaining information about a person in violation of section 72A.493 punishable by a fine not to exceed $3,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 364 days, or both.
Statutory damages
Section 72A.503, subdivision 1 makes a violator liable to the aggrieved person to the same extent as the civil remedies in section 13.08, subdivision 1: damages sustained plus costs and reasonable attorney fees, and for a willful violation exemplary damages of not less than $1,000 and not more than $15,000 for each violation. The $1,000 figure is the least exemplary award for a willful violation and is recorded as the per-person figure for a willful violation; the $15,000 figure is its ceiling.
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per person reckless
- 1,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
A court of competent jurisdiction, on application by an aggrieved person under section 72A.503.
What this law does
The Minnesota Insurance Fair Information Reporting Act is the short title of sections 72A.49 to 72A.505 of the Minnesota Statutes. The Act applies to an insurer, insurance agent or insurance-support organization that collects, receives or maintains information in connection with insurance transactions that pertains to Minnesota residents, or that engages in insurance transactions with applicants, individuals or policyholders who are Minnesota residents.
For the Act, an insurer includes a joint self-insurance plan or multiple employer trust regulated under chapter 60F, 62H, or section 471.617, subdivision 2. Section 471.617, subdivision 2 lets two or more statutory or home rule charter cities, counties, school districts, or instrumentalities of them that together have more than 100 employees jointly self-insure for employee health benefits.
The Act does not apply to insurance transactions involving property and casualty insurance primarily for business or professional needs. Section 72A.494 requires each insurer or insurance agent to provide a notice relating to information practices to each applicant or policyholder.
Section 72A.494 exempts from the notice a group policy that is not individually underwritten and a renewal, reinstatement or change in benefits where no personal information is to be collected other than from the applicant, policyholder or public records.
On a written request after proper identification, an insurer, insurance agent or insurance-support organization must within 30 business days tell the individual the nature and substance of the personal information it holds, permit the individual to see and copy it, and disclose to whom it was disclosed within the previous two years.
Within 30 business days of a written request to correct, amend or delete personal information, the holder must correct, amend or delete the disputed portion or notify the individual of its refusal, the reasons and the right to appeal to the commissioner. After an adverse underwriting decision, the insurer or insurance agent responsible must provide in writing the specific reasons for the decision and a summary of the person's rights of access and correction.
An insurer, insurance agent or insurance-support organization may not disclose personal or privileged information about a person collected or received in connection with an insurance transaction without the person's authorization except as section 72A.502 allows.
An insurer, insurance agent or insurance-support organization that discloses personal or privileged information requiring the person's written authorization must notify the person in writing within ten days of the date the information was disclosed.
An insurer, insurance agent or insurance-support organization may not obtain information in connection with an insurance transaction by pretending to be someone else, pretending to represent a person, misrepresenting the true purpose of the interview or refusing to provide identification on request.
An insurer, insurance agent or insurance-support organization that violates the Act is liable to the aggrieved person to the same extent as civil remedies are allowed in section 13.08, subdivision 1 for violations of chapter 13 by a government body. Section 13.08, subdivision 1 makes a government entity liable, in the case of a willful violation, for exemplary damages of not less than $1,000 and not more than $15,000 for each violation.
Any person who knowingly and willfully obtains information about a person in violation of section 72A.493 is subject to a fine not to exceed $3,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 364 days, or both. The session law that enacted the Act makes sections 1 to 5 and 7 to 17 effective . The session law that enacted the Act makes the notice section effective .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app is an insurer.