"NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   (1) For a period of seven years from receipt by the commissioner, any documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the commissioner that are provided or obtained by the commissioner in an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent insurance acts under this chapter are confidential by law, privileged, not subject to public disclosure under chapters 42.17 and 42.56 RCW, not subject to subpoena, and not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action. However, except for information under subsections (6) and (7) of this section, information regarding a specific person may be disclosed to that person, and only that person, upon request of the person. The commissioner and prosecutors are authorized to use the documents, materials, or other information in the furtherance of (a) any regulatory or legal action brought as part of the commissioner's official duties, or (b) criminal prosecution.
     (2) For a period of seven years from receipt by the commissioner, neither the commissioner nor any person who received the documents, materials, or other information while acting under the authority of this chapter may be permitted or required to testify in any private civil action concerning any confidential documents, materials, or information subject to subsection (1) of this section.
     (3) In order to assist in the performance of the commissioner's duties under this chapter, the commissioner may:
     (a) Share documents, materials, or other information, including confidential and privileged documents, material, or information subject to subsection (1) of this section with other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, with the national association of insurance commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and with local, state, federal, and international law enforcement authorities, the national insurance crime bureau, and an insurer with respect to whom the suspected fraudulent claim may be perpetrated provided that the recipient agrees to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information;
     (b) Receive documents, materials, or information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information from the national association of insurance commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, an insurer with respect to whom the suspected fraudulent claim may be perpetrated, the national insurance crime bureau, and from regulatory and law enforcement officials of other foreign or domestic jurisdictions, and for a period of seven years from receipt by the commissioner shall maintain as confidential or privileged any document, material, or information received with the notice or the understanding that it is confidential or privileged under the laws of the jurisdiction that is the source of the document, material, or information; and
     (c) Enter into agreements governing sharing and use of information consistent with this section.
     (4) No waiver of an existing privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents, materials, or information may occur as a result of disclosure to the commissioner under this section or as a result of sharing documents, materials, or information as authorized in subsection (3) of this section.
     (5) Documents, materials, or other information that are in the possession of persons other than the commissioner that would otherwise not be confidential by law or privileged do not become confidential by law or privileged by providing the documents, materials, or other information to the commissioner.
     (6) Information obtained by the commissioner under this chapter revealing the identity of persons who are witnesses to or victims of crime or who file complaints with insurers, investigative agencies, law enforcement agencies, or penology agencies is exempt from public inspection and copying under chapters 42.17 and 42.56 RCW, if disclosure would endanger any person's life, physical safety, or property. If at the time the information is provided to the insurer, commissioner, or investigative agencies, or law enforcement agencies under this chapter, and the complainant, victim, or witness indicates a desire for disclosure or nondisclosure, their desire governs.
     (7) Specific investigative and law enforcement records obtained by the commissioner, the nondisclosure of which is essential to effective law enforcement or for the protection of any person's right to privacy, are exempt from public inspection and copying under chapters 42.17 and 42.56 RCW."