Insurance: fraud prevention and detection.

Existing law authorizes the Insurance Commissioner or their designated deputy commissioner to convene meetings with insurance companies to discuss specific information concerning suspected, anticipated, or completed acts of insurance fraud. Existing law protects a person sharing information pursuant to that authorization from civil liability for libel, slander, or any other relevant cause of action if the commissioner or their designated deputy commissioner is present at the meeting and advises meeting participants of guidelines to ensure compliance with federal and state antitrust laws, as specified, and if there is no fraud or malice on the part of the participants. This bill, instead, would authorize the commissioner or their designated deputy commissioner to convene meetings with representatives of insurance companies or representatives of self-insured employers to discuss specific information concerning suspected, anticipated, or completed acts of insurance fraud. This bill would also authorize a district attorney to convene a meeting described above with representatives of insurance companies or representatives of self-insured employers. The bill would require the commissioner, their designated deputy commissioner, or designated employees of the department from the department's Fraud or Legal Division to attend such a meeting. This bill would protect a person sharing information pursuant to that authorization from civil liability for libel, slander, or any other relevant cause of action if the commissioner, their designated deputy commissioner, or designated employees of the department from the department's Fraud Division or the department's legal division are present at the meeting, they advise meeting participants, as specified, of guidelines to ensure compliance with federal and state antitrust laws, and there is no fraud or malice on the part of the participants.