On behalf of the Independent Insurance Agents of America ("IIAA"), the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors ("NAIFA") (formerly NALU), and the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, Inc. ("PIA") (collectively "Insurance Agents"), we submit these comments to assist the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in its consideration of the rules it has proposed to carry out its duty under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ("GLBA" or "Act")1 to prescribe regulations to implement the GLBA privacy requirements included in Subtitle A of Title 5 of that Act.2 The Insurance Agents are non-profit trade associations that represent almost one million insurance agents and their employees throughout the United States. Their members are independent agents who work at all levels of the insurance market and sell a full range of insurance products, including annuities.
(1) First, because a consumer's ability to opt-out is the central mechanism for protecting privacy under these proposed rules, the SEC should mandate that the opt-out materials provided by financial institutions are accessible and that the right is easily and practically exercised. To facilitate this, we suggest that the examples of adequate opt-out notices provided in the rules be changed into bedrock requirements that compel financial institutions to empower their consumers to exercise their right to opt-out of information sharing practices by simply checking a box either on a paper or electronic form provided by the institution.
In this same vein, we suggest that any web site maintained by the institution include the opt-out notification and a "check-the-box" screen that can be employed by the consumer to exercise their opt-out right. We also suggest that any opt-out that is provided be effective for all accounts the consumer maintains with both the financial institution and all of its affiliates. This is especially necessary to ensure that consumer opt-outs are effective since the ability of financial institutions to share nonpublic personally identifiable information with their affiliates is not limited in any way under the GLBA.
Finally, we propose that the rules that dictate the manner in which the GLBA opt-out notification must be provided should also apply to providing the opt-out notices required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq.
(2) Second, the SEC needs to coordinate with State insurance authorities to insure that all regulations are consistent. There are many insurance agents who are also registered brokers. Since these agents will be subject to both sets of rules, its is absolutely imperative that these rules not impose inconsistent requirements.
(3) Third, the SEC needs to clarify the relationship between the proposed privacy rules and the pending regulations that would implement the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA")(Pub. L. No. 104-191). Specifically, the SEC needs to make clear that it is not attempting to regulate the sharing of health related information, and, moreover, that the GLBA will not modify, limit, or supersede the HIPAA regulatory regime that is being established to regulate health information.
In the second part, section-by-section comments on each of the proposed SEC rules are provided.
Consumers' ability to opt-out of the sharing of their nonpublic personal information by their financial institution with nonaffiliated third parties is the central feature of the proposed rules. It is this ability - and this ability alone - that actually allows consumers to protect their privacy. Therefore, it is vitally important that the rules mandate procedures that will clearly inform financial institutions of their responsibilities under the rules, fully inform consumers of their right to "opt-out," and make the exercise of that right as easy as possible.
To accomplish these goals requires that the SEC ensure that any opt-out notices that are provided are widely accessible and that the exercise of that right is easily achievable and practical. At a minimum, this requires the imposition of crystal clear opt-out requirements. The proposed rules contain a number of "suggestions" in the sections describing a consumer's opt-out right. Rather than offering suggestions, however, the rules should impose firm requirements that clearly delineate a financial institution's responsibilities. For example, the proposed rules provide a number of "examples" of what a "reasonable opportunity to opt-out" is.3 These examples should be firm requirements. Financial institutions should not be left to make judgment calls on what a reasonable opportunity to opt-out means; the SEC should clearly state what is required.
(3) Requiring that the opt-out right with a "check-the-box" response be posted in an obvious and easily accessible place on any internet site maintained or operated by or on behalf of a financial institution.
Second, in addition to the requirements already imposed by the rules, all opt-out forms should plainly explain what the opt-out is and what the implications are for the consumer if he or she does not opt-out. This will ensure that the consumer has a chance to understand what opting out actually means.
Third, a consumer should only have to opt-out once to prevent all disclosures by, or among, his or her financial institution and all of its affiliates. In other words, even if a consumer utilizes a number of different products or services from, or establishes a number of different "customer relationships" with, a financial institution and its affiliates, the consumer should be able to fill out one opt-out form (check one box on paper, or click one box electronically) to prevent all disclosures related to all the products and services and customer relationships and all the affiliates. This is necessary to ensure that consumer opt-outs are effective especially because the ability of financial institutions to share nonpublic personally identifiable information with their affiliates is not limited in any way under the GLBA.
Fourth and finally, the SEC should export these opt-out requirements to the FCRA to make clear that the same requirements that apply to the provision of opt-out notices under the GLBA apply with equal force in the FCRA context for providing consumers notice of their right to opt-out of information sharing practices among affiliates. There is no policy justification for imposing different requirements on the virtually identical opt-out rights created by the two statutes.
Because many life insurance products involve securities, numerous insurance agents are also registered securities brokers. Generally, the insurance activities of these agents are subject to the rules promulgated by the State insurance authority in the State in which they are domiciled.4 But because the GLBA has imposed a new functional regulation regime, these agents will also be subject to the SEC's rules when they act as registered brokers. Therefore, it is critical that the SEC cooperate with State insurance authorities to ensure that everyone's rules are consistent. The existence of inconsistent or contradictory requirements could potentially cause a compliance nightmare for these dual function agents.
The relationship between the GLBA and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA")(Pub. L. No. 104-191) needs to be clarified. The HIPAA regulations will provide detailed rules to govern the disclosure of health-related information by insurance agents and other entities. Special concerns arise in the health care context due to the unique nature of a system in which the health care needs of most workers are ensured by their employers both through state-mandated workers compensation systems and through health benefit plans. Consequently, the SEC and other agencies should make clear that the proposed rules do not apply to the sharing of health related information. The SEC should explicitly state in a new section, similar to section 248.14 (discussing the Fair Credit Reporting Act), that the GLBA will not modify, limit, or supersede the HIPAA. Additionally, the SEC should state in the definition of "personally identifiable financial information" that it does not include health-related information, and that health related information is exclusively governed by the HIPAA. These modifications will eliminate any confusion or conflicts that could arise if insurance agents were subject to two competing sets of rules for the treatment of health-related information.
We believe that examples are useful in providing guidance on acceptable conduct under the GLBA and the SEC's rules. As we have discussed above with regard to the explanations of rights and responsibilities under the opt-out provisions, however, we believe that these examples should be replaced with mandatory requirements. Additionally, as we note below, some of the examples provided are ambiguous and should be clarified by the SEC.
(c) Clear and Conspicuous. This definition is appropriate. We note, however, that the "examples" in paragraph (b)(2) are more properly captioned as "factors to be considered" in drafting a "clear and conspicuous" notice. Additionally, we recommend that the SEC provide model notice provisions to provide more specific guidance to financial institutions that fall under its enforcement authority.
(f) Company. The proposed rules purport to apply to any "company" subject to the SEC's jurisdiction. The definition of "company" appears to apply only to actual business entities such as corporations or partnerships. The SEC should make clear, however, that a sole proprietorship is not a "company" subject to the GLBA's privacy requirements. Many small insurance agencies operate as sole proprietorships for a variety of reasons. The GLBA's requirements could pose burdens on such small agencies that they would be unable to satisfy. There is no indication, however, that Congress intended the GLBA's requirements to apply to such small businesses. For that reason, we respectfully request that the SEC clarify that it does not intend to impose these new burdens on sole proprietorships.
(g) Consumer. Generally, we support the SEC's proposed definition; however, to clarify the rule's coverage, we recommend that the SEC provide an example that states that with regard to insurance, only the policyholder is to be considered as the "consumer." The policyholder typically is the person who purchases the policy and is in contractual privity with the insurer, whereas beneficiaries and insureds are not generally considered to be an insurance agent's customers.
(h) Consumer reporting agency. No comment.
(j) Customer. We support this definition, but recommend that the SEC clarify that the policyholder is the "customer," and not the beneficiary or the insured.
(k) Customer relationship. No comment.
(m) Financial institution. As discussed above, we urge that the SEC state that the term does not include a sole proprietorship.
(n) Financial product or service. We object to the inclusion of the term "evaluation" in paragraph n(2) ("financial service"). The inclusion of "evaluations" broadens the scope of the term "financial service" under the GLBA, and we do not believe the SEC has the authority to do this. Moreover, it is not customary to treat an evaluation of an application as a service, and there is no reason why such information should be treated as a "financial service." While we appreciate the concern that information contained in applications could potentially be disclosed to nonaffiliated third parties, we do not believe that either the language or intent of the GLBA reaches this information.
(p) Government regulator. No comment.
(q) Investment Advisor. No comment.
(r) Investment Company. No comment.
(s) Nonaffiliated third party. No comment.
(t) Nonpublic personal information. We note that several other agencies have presented alternative definitions of nonpublic personal information, and request that the SEC and the other agencies take steps to ensure that a uniform standard is adopted that will adequately protect the privacy of consumers. Without a uniform standard, financial institutions will potentially face inconsistent requirements that allow them to disclose information in one regulatory context but not in another. Such a result would obviously create a compliance nightmare.
(v) Personally identifiable financial information. As discussed above, we strongly urge the SEC to exempt medical information from these rules. Therefore, the SEC should delete references to medical information in this definition. Regulations being promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA")(Pub. L. No. 104-191) will provide comprehensive standards for protecting the privacy of identifiable health information. See 64 Fed. Reg. 59918 (November 3, 1999). Including medical information within the scope of personally identifiable financial information will only confuse financial institutions and their customers. In addition, these proposed rules may conflict with the rules being adopted by HHS under HIPAA, thereby placing financial institutions in the difficult position of having to determine which regulations to comply with.
(w) Publicly available information. We believe that the SEC must provide a rule that adequately ensures that information that is treated as public, is actually public information. Again, we also note that several other agencies have presented alternative definitions of "publicly available information," and request that the SEC and the other agencies take steps to ensure that a uniform standard is adopted.
We oppose the requirement contained in paragraph (a)(1) that initial privacy notices be provided "prior to the time" the financial institution establishes a customer relationship. Section 503 of the GLBA provides that an initial disclosure must be made "[a]t the time of establishing" a customer relationship with a consumer. Since Congress dictated that the notice must be given at the time the customer relationship is established and not before, the SEC should clarify that the providing of the initial notice can be done at the same time that the business transaction is consummated.
Currently, paragraph (d)(2) permits financial institutions to provide notice within a reasonable time after establishing a customer relationship in connection with loan purchases, or if the consumer orally agrees to enter into the consumer relationship and the consumer agrees to receive the notice thereafter. Paragraph (d)(2) should be modified to allow insurance providers to provide notice at the same time as the insurance policy is delivered to the policyholder. This change would better coincide with industry practice because in the insurance industry, the issuance of the insurance policy denotes the time when the company is obligated to provide insurance as well as when the customer relationship is formally established.
(3) by electronic mail if agreed to by the consumer.
We agree with the paragraph (c) directive that a consumer may be deemed to no longer be a customer if the financial institution has not communicated with a customer for 12 consecutive months, and that financial institutions should have the discretion to make this determination.
We are generally supportive of this provision and believe that it tracks the GLBA requirements.
"You must provide a consumer the reasonable opportunity to opt-out by mailing, either by traditional letter mail, or by electronic mail if agreed to by the consumer, the notices required in paragraph (a)(1) of this section to the consumer, and allowing the consumer 30 days to opt-out."
"To provide a reasonable opportunity to opt-out you must do one of the following: . . . "
The examples would then be the required choices for complying with the opt-out notice requirement. In this regard, we also believe that providing a self-addressed envelope should be required under both (a)(2)(A) and (B).
The word "examples" in paragraph (c )(3)(i) should be deleted to make a change-in-terms notice required in the two circumstances listed.
Paragraph (e) should be amended to clarify that once a consumer opts-out, that opt-out applies to each service product, service, or customer relationship he or she has, or subsequently has, with the financial institution and/or any of its affiliates.
Finally, we are fully supportive of the requirement that a consumer's revocation of his or her decision to opt-out must be in writing or in electronic form. We believe that this is necessary to ensure that any revocation of a previously exercised right is not based on a misunderstanding. Because financial institutions are permitted to require the opt-out to be exercised in writing, they should be required to receive the revocation in some written form.
§ 248.10 Exceptions for Processing and Servicing.
We believe that the exceptions provided generally conform to section 502(e) of the GLBA. We urge, however, that some of the specific language of the GLBA that has been omitted be preserved. The words "in connection with" which appear in section 502(e)(1) should be inserted to modify paragraphs (a)(2), (3) and (4), as they do in the GLBA. We believe that this is an important addition because Congress intended the processing exception to apply both "as necessary to effect, administer or enforce a transaction requested or authorized by the consumer" and "in connection with servicing or processing a financial product or service requested or authorized by the consumer." This latter statutory clause is essential because it broadens the scope of the initial authorization to ensure that sharing that is done "in connection with" the requested service or product also is fully permissible. If this clause is excluded in the rules, we are concerned that it may create a gap which could interfere with the efficient delivery of products and services to consumers.
It also is important to note that we believe that the special insurance provision set forth in (b)(2)(v) that has been included is sufficient to enable agents and brokers to process insurance applications and service their clients under those contracts.
With regard to paragraph (a)(1), the SEC has asked whether a financial institution should require a consumer to provide such consent in writing. For the reasons presented above with regard to a consumer's revocation of his or her opt-out, we believe that a consumer's consent should be in writing to ensure that there is no misunderstanding regarding the consumer's revocation of his or her rights.
The SEC should clarify that the term "transaction account" does not include an insurance policy. There does not appear to be any basis for treating an insurance policy as a transaction account. We also recommend that the SEC permit financial institutions disclose consumer account numbers or similar forms of access numbers or access codes in an encrypted, scrambled or similarly coded form if (1) the consumer consents and (2) the disclosure is necessary to process or service the transaction requested or authorized by the consumer. This exception would be consistent with the legislative history of the GLBA.
We recommend that the SEC clarify that the FCRA provides overlapping requirements that are unaffected by the proposed rules.
Paragraph (b) of this proposed rule purports to extend the GLBA statutory preemption to the SEC's proposed rules. We do not believe that any such extension is warranted, especially in light of the several departures from the statutory framework that are noted above.
The SEC has proposed an effective date of November 13, 2000. It is our understanding that many other commentators will request that this date be extended to provide them with the opportunity to make the operational changes necessary to implement the rules. We join in this request in part because a short extension also would better enable the states to make the necessary statutory and regulatory amendments that are necessary to empower their insurance regulators to enforce the GLBA privacy requirements.
We would be happy to provide any additional comments or materials that would assist the Commission with its deliberations.
1 See P.L. 106-102 (codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 6801 et seq.).
3 See, e.g., 17 CFR § 248.8 (a)(2).
4 See GLBA §505 (a)(6).