Contact: Nina Lill
Tel: 847.297.7800

FOR RELEASE ON RECEIPT

10/23/2000

Privacy Deadline Extension Still Needed in Majority of States

DES PLAINES, Ill. — With less than a month to go before a new federal privacy law was initially set to take effect, more than a dozen states have chosen to extend the compliance deadline to July 1, 2001.

As of October 19, some 13 state insurance departments had taken action to extend the compliance date for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act from November 13, 2000 to July 1, 2001, according to the National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII). Two other states—Rhode Island and Wisconsin—have issued notices of intent to extend the deadline. For a complete tally of state action, please see the attached chart.

In May, federal regulators moved the deadline to July 1, 2001 for federally regulated financial institutions to bring their systems, policies and procedures in line with the new GLB privacy provisions. However, because all insurers are regulated at the state level, they could be held accountable for the November 13 compliance date unless state regulators take separate action to extend the deadline to July.

"While more states are extending the deadline, two-thirds still need to take action before November 13," said Kathleen Jensen, Insurance Services Counsel for NAII. "We strongly urge the remaining states to extend the deadline to July 1 to allow insurers adequate time to implement the new privacy standards properly."

As state legislatures convene next year, it is essential that they adopt laws that are consistent with Gramm-Leach-Bliley's provisions and do not exceed those requirements, Jensen said.

"If the states create a patchwork of inconsistent laws, a person or business in Oklahoma would have to live with a different set of rules than a person or business in Maine, which would only result in confusion and frustration for all those involved," she said.

NAII, based in suburban Chicago, is the nation's leading full-service property-casualty trade association, representing more than 675 member companies. NAII members write more than 33 percent of the nation's property-casualty insurance.

Proposed and Enacted GLB Privacy Compliance Date
As of 10/19/00

State	Proposed GLB Privacy Compliance Effective Date	Enacted GLB Privacy Compliance Effective Date	Regulation or Statute that Enacted GLB Privacy Effective Date	Other Comments
Alabama	--	07/01/01	10/16/00
Alaska	None	None
Arizona	--	07/01/01		AZ Circular Letter 2000-12
Arkansas	--	07/01/01		Insurance Dept. Bulletin 2A-00
California	07/01/01			Proposed Regulation RH-392
Colorado	07/01/01	07/01/01		Emergency Reg 00E1, Reg 6-4-1 Pending
Connecticut	None	None
Delaware	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
District of Columbia	07/01/01			9/21/00 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Florida	None	None
Georgia	None	None
Hawaii	None	None
Idaho	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
Illinois		07/01/01		50 Ill Adm Code 4001
Indiana	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
Iowa	07/01/01			Per Info from Iowa Insurance Institute
Kansas	--	07/01/01	10/01/00	Bulletin No. 2000-5, Regs forthcoming
Kentucky	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
Louisiana	07/01/01			Emergency Regulation 76
Maine	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
Maryland	None	None
Massachusetts	--	07/01/01		Insurance Bulletin 00-08 dated 08/09/2000
Michigan	07/01/01	07/01/01	10/17/00	Bulletin 2000-08
Minnesota	07/01/01			Ins. Commissioner will request Legislation
Mississippi		07/01/01	10/05/00	Emergency order Regulation 2000-7
Missouri		07/01/01	10/11/00	Bulletin 00-03
Montana	07/01/01			More burdensome Privacy req. not GLBA
Nebraska	None	None		Do not have authority to extend date
Nevada	07/01/01			10/10/2000 Hearing on Proposed Reg
New Hampshire	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
New Jersey	None	None
New Mexico	None	None
New York	07/01/01			Proposed Regulation
North Carolina	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
North Dakota	None	None
Ohio	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
Oklahoma	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
Oregon	07/01/01			Proposed Rule. Hearing 11/08/00
Pennsylvania		07/01/01	10/07/00
Rhode Island	07/01/01	None	10/17/00	Emergency Reg. Takes effect in 20 days
South Carolina	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
South Dakota	None	None		Expect Dept. rule-making 2001legislation
Tennessee	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
Texas		07/01/01	10/06/00	Commissioner's Bulletin No. B-0056-00
Utah	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
Vermont	07/01/01
Virginia		07/01/01
Washington	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
West Virginia	See Comments	See Comments		Unknown at this time
Wisconsin	07/01/01			Statement of Intent has been promulgated
Wyoming	None	None