Bill description: This bill requires insurers perform Own Risk Solvency Assessments for the State of Idaho.

Analyst’s note: The purpose of this new chapter is to require all insurers in the State of Idaho to produce a copy of an Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) for the State Department of Insurance. Under this proposed bill, the ORSA is “a confidential internal assessment, appropriate to the nature, scale and complexity of an insurer or insurance group, conducted by that insurer or insurance group of the material and relevant risks associated with the insurer's or the insurance group's current business plan, and the sufficiency of capital resources to support those risks.” The purpose of this assessment is provide proof that insurance providers in the state of Idaho are financially viable.

Rating: -2

Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market?

This bill would create new regulations on the insurance industry. Specifically, the bill would require the ORSA assessment “no less than annually but also at any time when there are significant changes to the risk profile of the insurer or the insurance group of which the insurer is a member.” (-1)

Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency or accountability?

The bill would exempt ORSA documents created and submitted to the Department of Insurance from the state’s public records law. Such information is viewed as confidential, containing significant proprietary and trade secret information, likely already exempted by the state’s public records law. This statute goes further, however. ORSA data and related information could be used for regulatory purposes but not subject to scrutiny in any setting, including court discovery. This prevents the public from understanding the operations of and regulatory decisions of government. (-1)