Since July 1, 2019, Delaware, New Hampshire and Connecticut have enacted laws imposing new
cybersecurity requirements on insurers. These laws follow similar
statutes already operating in at least six other states: Alabama,
South Carolina, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Mississippi.
Additional laws are likely in the coming year.
The latest laws and their predecessors are generally outgrowths
of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’
(NAIC) Insurance Data Security Model Law (“Model Law”). NAIC issued its
Model Law in 2017 and has strongly encouraged state insurance
authorities to adopt similar security protections, absent similar
existing legislation. The Model Law’s provisions call for
insurers to develop a written cybersecurity program, investigate
and quickly report data breaches, conduct risk assessments and
annually certify their compliance with security provisions.