(a) An insurance institution or agent shall provide a notice of information practices to all applicants or policyholders in connection with insurance transactions as provided in this section: (1) In the case of an application for insurance, (A) at the time of the delivery of the insurance policy or certificate when personal information is collected only from the applicant or public records or (B) at the time the collection of personal information is initiated when personal information is collected from a source other than the applicant or public records, (2) in the case of a policy renewal, the renewal date, except that no notice shall be required in connection with a policy renewal if: (A) Personal information is collected only from the policyholder or from public records, or (B) a notice meeting the requirements of this section has been given within the previous twenty-four months, or (3) in the case of a policy reinstatement or change in insurance benefits, the time a request for a policy reinstatement or change in insurance benefits is received by the insurance institution, except that no notice shall be required if personal information is collected only from the policyholder or public records.

(b) The notice shall be in writing and shall state: (1) Whether personal information may be collected from persons other than the individual proposed for coverage, (2) the types of personal information that may be collected, the kinds of investigative techniques that may be used to collect such information and the sources from which such information may be collected, (3) the types of disclosures identified in subdivisions (2) to (6), inclusive, (9), (11), (12) and (14) of section 38a-988 and the circumstances under which such disclosures may be made without prior authorization; provided only those circumstances need be described which occur with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice, (4) a description of the rights established under sections 38a-983 and 38a-984 and the manner in which these rights may be exercised, and (5) that information obtained from a report prepared by an insurance-support organization may be retained by the organization and disclosed to other persons.

(c) In lieu of the notice prescribed in subsection (b) of this section, the insurance institution or agent may provide an abbreviated notice informing the applicant or policyholder that: (1) Personal information may be collected from persons other than the individual proposed for coverage, (2) such information as well as other personal or privileged information subsequently collected by the insurance institution or agent may in certain circumstances be disclosed to third parties without authorization, (3) a right of access and correction exists with respect to all personal information collected, and (4) the notice prescribed in subsection (b) of this section must be furnished to the applicant or policyholder upon request.

(d) The obligations imposed by this section upon an insurance institution or agent may be satisfied by another insurance institution or agent authorized to act on its behalf.

(P.A. 81-368, S. 5, 25; P.A. 02-24, S. 9.)

History: Sec. 38-504 transferred to Sec. 38a-979 in 1991; P.A. 02-24 amended Subsec. (b) to substitute references to subdivisions of Sec. 38a-988 for subsection references.