1879.1. (a) The commissioner or their designated deputy commissioner may 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.
(b) A district attorney may 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. The commissioner, their designated deputy commissioner, or designated employees of the department from the department’s Fraud Division or the department’s legal division shall attend such a meeting. Only one meeting per month may be convened pursuant to this subdivision. If more than one district attorney seeks to convene a meeting in a given month or a district attorney seeks to convene more than one meeting in a given month, then the commissioner shall choose which meeting the commissioner, their designated deputy commissioner, or designated employees of the department shall attend.
(c) The party that convenes a meeting pursuant to this section may invite a district attorney to participate in the meeting if the suspected, anticipated, or completed acts of insurance fraud to be discussed at the meeting previously occurred or may occur in the county that the district attorney represents.
(d) Information shared at a meeting convened pursuant to this section regarding specific suspected, anticipated, or completed acts of insurance fraud shall not make a person subject to civil liability for libel, slander, or any other relevant cause of action provided that all of the following requirements are met at the meeting:
(1) 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 or meetings.
(2) The commissioner, their designated deputy commissioner, or a designated employee of the department from the department’s Fraud Division or the department’s legal division advises meeting participants, at the beginning of any meeting convened pursuant to this section, of guidelines to ensure compliance with federal and state antitrust laws.
(3) There is no fraud or malice on the part of any of the following attending the meeting:
(A) The representatives of the insurance companies.
(B) The representatives of the self-insured employers.
(C) The commissioner, their designated deputy commissioner, or designated employees of the department.
(D) Any district attorney or their employees.
(e) A report of a fraudulent claim made by an insurance company under Section 1872.4 or made by a self-insured employer under Section 1877.3 that is based on information obtained at a meeting convened pursuant to this section shall comply with all requirements set forth in Section 1872.4 or 1877.3, as applicable, as well as Article 2 of Subchapter 9 of Chapter 5 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations and all other applicable regulations.
(f) If the commissioner reasonably believes or knows that a fraudulent claim is being made based on information obtained at a meeting convened pursuant to this section, the commissioner may share this information with any district attorney with whom the department has entered into a written agreement for the investigation and prosecution of insurance fraud.
(g) A district attorney may be represented at a meeting convened pursuant to this section only by employees who are licensees of the State Bar of California.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 861, Sec. 3. (AB 1681) Effective January 1, 2023.)