As used in this article:

(a) "Authorized agency" means:

(1) the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division, the Department of Public Safety, the sheriff's department of any county of this State, and any duly constituted criminal investigative department or agency of another state of the United States;

(2) the Attorney General of this State, any circuit solicitor of this State, any prosecuting attorney for a county, circuit, or district of another state or of the United States;

(3) the South Carolina Department of Insurance and the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs of the Attorney General's Office; and

(4) the United States Department of Justice and its Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(b) "Relevant" means having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the investigation or determination of the issue more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.

(c) "Action" means affirmative acts and the failure to take action.

(d) "Immune" means that neither a civil action nor a criminal prosecution may arise from any action taken pursuant to this article unless actual malice on the part of the insurance company or authorized agency against the insured or gross negligence or reckless disregard for his rights is present.

HISTORY: Derived from 1976 Code Section 38-37-1620 [1986 Act No. 513, Section 2] recodified as Section 38-77-1120 by 1987 Act No. 155, Section 1; 1992 Act No. 454, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 829; 1996 Act No. 459, Section 64.