374.070. 1. The office shall be a public office and the records shall be public records and shall at all times be open to the inspection of the public subject to such rules as the director shall make for their safekeeping; provided, however, that the work product of the director, the director's employees and agents, including but not limited to work papers of examinations of companies, work papers of investigations of companies, agents, brokers and insurance agencies and confidential communications to the department of insurance, shall not be considered public records except as the director may decide otherwise.
2. When requested, the director shall furnish certified copies of any paper, report, or documents on file in the director's office to any person requesting them, upon payment of the fees allowed by law.
3. Five years after the conclusion of the transactions to which they relate, the director is authorized to destroy or otherwise dispose of all correspondence, complaints, claim files, working papers of examinations of companies, examination reports of companies made by the insurance supervisory officials of states other than Missouri, rating files, void or obsolete or superseded rate filings and schedules, individual company rating experience data, applications, requisitions, and requests for licenses, all license cards and records, all expired bonds, all records of hearings, and all similar records, papers, documents, and memoranda now or hereafter in the possession of the director.
4. Ten years after the conclusion of the transactions to which they relate, the director is authorized to destroy or otherwise dispose of all foreign companies' and alien companies' annual statements, valuation reports, tax reports, and all similar records, papers, documents and memoranda now or hereafter in the possession of the director.
5. Disposal and destruction of records shall be in accordance with sections 109.200 to 109.310, RSMo.
(RSMo 1939 §§ 5788, 5793, A. 1949 H.B. 2115, A.L. 1953 p. 242, A.L. 1967 p. 516, A.L. 1999 S.B. 19 merged with S.B. 386)Prior revisions: 1929 §§ 5678, 5683; 1919 §§ 6089, 6094; 1909 §§ 6883, 6888