Is the date a Tennessee workers' compensation policy is cancelled a public record under the insurance confidentiality statute?

Subject

Opinion No. 14-11, Confidentiality of Workers' Compensation Policy Information, January 21, 2014

Plain-English summary

Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-421(a) makes most workers' compensation policy information that the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development gathers from carriers confidential, not a public record. Subsection (b) lists a narrow set of items that are public: the employer name and business address, the carrier name and business address, and the workers' compensation policy number, policy effective date, and policy expiration date.

Rep. Jimmy A. Eldridge asked whether a policy's cancellation date counts as a "policy expiration date" under (b)(3), and therefore would also be public. The AG said no.

The reasoning is a clean statutory-construction exercise. The statute doesn't define "expiration." Under Lavin v. Jordan, 16 S.W.3d 362, 365 (Tenn. 2000), courts apply the natural and ordinary meaning of statutory words. Black's Law Dictionary defines "cancellation" as "an annulment or termination of a promise or an obligation" and "expiration" as "a coming to an end; esp., a formal termination on a closing date." So an expiration is a termination on a date certain (the policy term ran out); a cancellation is a termination before the expiration (the policy was killed early).

Tennessee insurance law uses both terms in distinct ways. Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-9-308 separately addresses "expiration of the policy coverage" and "[t]he date proposed by the liquidator and approved by the court to cancel coverage" — distinct provisions, distinct events. If "expiration" meant "cancellation," there'd be no reason to use both terms. Munford Union Bank v. American Ambassador Cas. Co., 15 S.W.3d 448, 452 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999), reinforces the distinction: cancellation statutes do not apply to policies that expired by their own terms.

So § 50-6-421(b)(3) makes only the expiration date — the natural end of the policy term — a public record. The date a policy was cancelled before its expiration is confidential under § 50-6-421(a).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

§ 50-6-421(a). Authorizes the Commissioner to request workers' compensation policy information from carriers. Information obtained is confidential and not a public record under § 10-7-503, except as provided in subsection (b). The information may be used by state agencies (or designated vendors) to ensure compliance with the law.

§ 50-6-421(b). Lists what is public: employer name and address, carrier name and address, and policy number, policy effective date, and policy expiration date.

Cancellation vs. expiration. Black's Law Dictionary 219, 619 (8th ed. 2004): cancellation is annulment or termination of an obligation; expiration is coming to an end on a closing date. The two are distinct.

§ 56-9-308 (liquidation context). Tracks both "expiration of the policy coverage" and the cancellation date the liquidator picks. If the terms meant the same thing, the statute would not separately list them.

Munford Union Bank. Holds that statutes governing cancellation procedures don't apply to policies that expired by their own terms. Different rules for different events.

Common questions

Why does this distinction matter?

For employers and the public. Knowing a policy was cancelled early (potentially for nonpayment, dispute, or other coverage issues) tells a different story than knowing it ran its full term. Tennessee chose to make the policy term endpoint a public record but to protect cancellation events from public inquiry.

Can a member of the public still get cancellation information?

Not under § 50-6-421(b). The Department holds it confidentially. Whether other discovery or regulatory processes can reach it depends on the specific procedural context (e.g., litigation discovery, regulatory subpoenas).

Does this apply to other lines of insurance?

The opinion is specifically about workers' compensation under § 50-6-421. Other lines have their own public-records and confidentiality regimes.

Could the legislature change this?

Yes. The General Assembly could add cancellation date to the list of public-record items in § 50-6-421(b). The opinion reads the statute as written.

Citations

Statutory: Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503; § 50-6-421; § 50-6-421(a); § 50-6-421(b); § 56-9-308. Cases: Lavin v. Jordan, 16 S.W.3d 362 (Tenn. 2000); Munford Union Bank v. American Ambassador Cas. Co., 15 S.W.3d 448 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999). Reference: Black's Law Dictionary 219, 619 (8th ed. 2004).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2014/op14-011.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

January 21, 2014

Opinion No. 14-11

Confidentiality of Workers' Compensation Policy Information

QUESTION

Is the date that a workers' compensation policy is cancelled included within the meaning of a "policy expiration date" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-421(b) for purposes of determining whether such information is confidential and not a public record under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-421(a)?

OPINION

No. The date that a workers' compensation policy is cancelled is not a "policy expiration date" and is therefore confidential.

ANALYSIS

Tennessee Code Ann. § 50-6-421(a) provides that:

The commissioner of labor and workforce development may request and obtain information regarding employer workers' compensation insurance policies in order to ensure compliance with the law. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), any information relating to workers' compensation insurance policies obtained by the commissioner pursuant to this subsection (a) shall be deemed confidential and shall not constitute a public record, as defined in § 10-7-503; provided, such information may be used by any state agency, or vendor designated by the state, for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the law.

Subsection (b) of this section provides an exception to the above:

The following information obtained by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (a) shall constitute a public record, as defined in § 10-7-503, and shall be open for personal inspection by any citizen of this state:

(1) Employer name and business address;

(2) Workers' compensation insurance carrier name and business address; and

(3) Workers' compensation insurance policy number, policy effective date, and policy expiration date.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-421(b).

The statute does not define what constitutes an "expiration"; however, it is a basic rule of statutory construction that when construing or interpreting statutes, courts must "ascertain and carry out the legislature's intent without unduly restricting or expanding a statute beyond its intended scope." Lavin v. Jordan, 16 S.W.3d 362, 365 (Tenn. 2000). In so doing, courts "examine the 'natural and ordinary meaning of the language used, without a forced or subtle construction that would limit or extend the meaning of the language.' Where the language of the statute is clear and unambiguous, . . . [courts] will give effect to the statute according to the plain meaning of its terms." Id. at 365 (citations omitted).

A "cancellation" is "[a]n annulment or termination of a promise or an obligation." Black's Law Dictionary 219 (8th ed. 2004). An "expiration" is "[a] coming to an end; esp., a formal termination on a closing date ." Id. at 619. Based upon these definitions, it is apparent that there is a difference between the two terms. An expiration is a termination on a date certain, while a cancellation is a termination prior to the expiration.

Tennessee's insurance statutes generally and Tennessee caselaw support drawing such a distinction. Tennessee Code Ann. § 56-9-308, concerning insurance coverage during liquidation, distinguishes "expiration of the policy coverage" from "[t]he date proposed by the liquidator and approved by the court to cancel coverage." Had the legislature intended that "expiration" mean the same as "cancellation," there would be no need to include both terms. See also Munford Union Bank v. American Ambassador Cas. Co., 15 S.W.3d 448, 452 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999) (holding that statutes prescribing methods of cancelling insurance policies are not applicable where policies have expired by their own terms).

Because the date that a workers' compensation insurance policy is cancelled is not a "policy expiration date" as contemplated by Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-421(b), such information is not subject to inspection under that statute.

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

JOSEPH F. WHALEN
Associate Solicitor General

ALEXANDER S. RIEGER
Assistant Attorney General

Requested by:

The Honorable Jimmy A. Eldridge
State Representative
208 War Memorial Building
Nashville, Tennessee 37243