Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 230
By
Senator Smith
17-00288A-26 2026230__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to transparency in insurance matters;
3 amending s. 624.4213, F.S.; defining the term “trade
4 secret”; revising the requirements of a notice of
5 trade secret submitted to the Office of Insurance
6 Regulation or the Department of Financial Services;
7 specifying that certain information is not a trade
8 secret and is subject to public disclosure; requiring
9 the office to review all claims of trade secret
10 protection; requiring that certain claims of trade
11 secret protection be denied; requiring the office to
12 issue a written notice of denial of trade secret
13 protection under certain circumstances; requiring the
14 Financial Services Commission to contract with a
15 certain independent third-party entity for a specified
16 purpose; requiring that a certain reporting
17 requirement be included in the contract; providing
18 administrative fines; authorizing the office to
19 suspend or revoke a person’s certificate of authority
20 or license under certain circumstances; creating s.
21 624.4214, F.S.; requiring that fees, commissions, and
22 profit-sharing agreements between insurers and
23 affiliates be filed with the office and made publicly
24 accessible on the department’s website; providing an
25 effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Present subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section
30 624.4213, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (2),
31 (3), and (4), respectively, a new subsection (1) and subsections
32 (5) through (8) are added to that section, and present
33 subsection (1) of that section is amended, to read:
34 624.4213 Trade secret documents.—
35
(1)
As used in this section, the term “trade secret” has
36
the same meaning as
provided
in s. 688.0
0
2.
37
(2
)
(1)
If any person who is required to submit documents or
38 other information to the office or department pursuant to the
39 insurance code or by rule or order of the office, department, or
40 commission claims that such submission contains a trade secret,
41 such person may file with the office or department a notice of
42 trade secret as provided in this section. Failure to do so
43 constitutes a waiver of any claim by such person that the
44 document or information is a trade secret.
45 (a) Each page of such document or specific portion of a
46 document claimed to be a trade secret must be clearly marked as
47 “trade secret.”
48 (b) All material marked as a trade secret must be separated
49 from all non-trade secret material, such as being submitted in a
50 separate envelope clearly marked as “trade secret.”
51 (c) In submitting a notice of trade secret to the office or
52 department, the submitting party must include
a sworn
an
53 affidavit
that
includes
all
certifying under oath to the truth
54 of the following
statements concerning all documents or
55 information
that are claimed to be trade secrets
:
56
1.
The basis for the claim that the submission qualifies as
57
a trade secret.
58
2.
A statement that all of
the following
are true
:
59
a.
1.
...(I consider/My company considers)... this
60 information a trade secret that has value and provides an
61 advantage or an opportunity to obtain an advantage over those
62 who do not know or use it.
63
b.
2.
...(I have/My company has)... taken measures to
64 prevent the disclosure of the information to anyone other than
65 those who have been selected to have access for limited
66 purposes, and ...(I intend/my company intends)... to continue to
67 take such measures.
68
c.
3.
The information is not, and has not been, reasonably
69 obtainable without ...(my/our)... consent by other persons by
70 use of legitimate means.
71
d.
4.
The information is not publicly available elsewhere
,
72
and th
e
public release of such information would cause actual,
73
demonstrable harm to
...(me/my company)...
.
74
3
.
A summary
prepared
for the general public
which
75
describes the nature of the
submission claimed to be a trade
76
secret
without disclosing the protected details
of the
77
submission
.
78
(5)
The following information is not considered a trade
79
secret and is subject to public disclosure:
80
(a)
Any financial information, including data, models, or
81
assumptions
,
used in the calculation or justification of
82
insurance rates.
83
(b)
All transactions between an insurer and any affiliate,
84
including
, but not limited to,
fees, commissions, payments, or
85
profit-sharing agreements with managing general agents
, as
86
defined in s. 626.015,
claims handlers, reinsurers, or third
87
party administrators.
88
(c)
Officer and employee compensation.
89
(d)
Dividends paid to shareholders.
90
(e)
Any information contained in rate filings.
91
(f)
Any information used to support or oppose proposed
92
legislation.
93
(g)
The summary prepared in accordance with subparagraph
94
(2)(c)3.
95
(6)
The office shall review all claims of trade secret
96
protection submitted under this section. If the office or
97
department determines that the information does not meet the
98
definition of a trade secret under s. 688.002 or falls within
99
the categories described in subsection (5), the claim
must
be
100
denied and the office
must
issue a written notice of denial to
101
the submitting party.
102
(7)
The commission shall, at least once every other year,
103
contract with an independent third-party entity with expertise
104
in insurance regulation to conduct an independent review of
105
trade secret claims submitted under this section. The contract
106
must require submission of a final report to the commission, the
107
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
108
Representatives by February 1
following the year in which a
109
review is conducted which identifies
any
trade secret
claim
the
110
third-party entity recommends
be rejected by the commission.
111
(
8
)
A person
who
knowingly asserts a false claim of trade
112
secret protection in order to conceal unlawful financial
113
practices is subject to an administrative fine imposed by the
114
office in an amount not to exceed $25,000 per violation. In
115
addition, the office may suspend or revoke the person’s
116
certificate of authority or license as provided in s. 624.418.
117 Section 2. Section 624.4214, Florida Statutes, is created
118 to read:
119
624.4214 Public disclosure of affiliate financial
120
arrangement.—All fees, commissions, and profit-sharing
121
agreements between an insurer and its affiliates must be filed
122
with the office and made publicly accessible o
n
the department’s
123
website.
124 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.