Florida Court of Appeals Upholds Protection of Insurance Company’s Trade Secrets
On Monday March 20th, a Florida appeals court sided with State Farm Florida concerning a dispute over whether insurance policy information can technically be considered a “trade secret” shielded from public disclosure. Insurance policy information frequently contains confidential business information which, if viewed by other companies, could provide them with a competitive advantage. While insurance companies have long been required to file such information with the government through the Quarterly and Supplemental Reporting System, companies like State Farm have sought to keep this information confidential (i.e. not disclosed to the public) precisely because the information could be used by competitors if made public. After a Leon County circuit judge agreed with State Farm on this issue last year, the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) decided to appeal it in an effort to release the information to the public. However, on Monday, the three-judge appellate panel disagreed with the OIR that keeping the information confidential would harm consumers, undermine transparency, and increase the OIR’s administrative burden. The Law in Florida Florida law defines trade secrets as information (including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process) that derives independent economic value (actual or potential) from not being generally known to (and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by) other people who can obtain economic disclosure or use (providing, of course, that these efforts to maintain its secrecy are reasonable, given the circumstances). For this precise reason, the Florida legislature purposely exempts trade secrets from the state public records law. In this case, all that State Farm needed to do was present evidence that its data meets the Legislature’s definition of trade secrets. In doing so, it was clear that, if the information was made public, a competitor could use State Farm’s data to see where the company is growing and proceed to use that information in order choose where they might have an economic advantage without having to invest marketing funds. While the OIR claimed that it needed to provide the data to the public in the form of reports listing the top 25 property insurers, the judges disagreed with the agency, finding that this objective did not supersede the Legislature’s intent to protect businesses’ trade secrets. Florida Business & Insurance Attorneys Serving Orlando, Sarasota, and Tampa You have a right to protect your company’s trade secrets and other confidential business information that could be used by other companies or individuals to gain a competitive advantage. At HD Law Partners, we have been providing excellent legal representation for insurance and other companies in Florida communities for years. Contact us today to obtain valuable and comprehensive legal advice from our team of experienced Tampa business lawyers. Resource: orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-nsf-state-farm-florida-ruling-20170320-story.html Tags: Florida Business and Corporate Lawyer, Florida Business and Corporate Lawyers, Insurance Company Trade Secrets, State Farm Florida Posted in Business Corporate | No Comments » Connect with us Archives May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 January 2025 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 November 13 Categories Alimony Appellate Arbitration Auto Accidents Auto Insurance Business Corporate Business Insurance Law Child Custody Child Support Criminal Law Divorce Family Law FEMA Insurance Payments Florida’s Mandatory 2‑Hour Legal Professionalism CLE: Foreclosure Defense Fort Myers Hurricane Insurance Attorney General Guardianship HD Law Partners Service HOA/Property Management Homeowners Association Homeowners Insurance Hurricane Claims Hurricane Insurance Insurance Bad Faith Insurance Claims Insurance Defense Insurance Litigation Landlord Tenant Law Enforcement Liability Loan Modifications Mold Water Damage Parental Rights Paternity Personal Injury Premises Liability Law Prenuptial Agreements Private Security Property Distribution Property Owner Law Sarasota Insurance Litigation Attorney Slip Fall Tampa Business and Corporate Attorneys tampa family attorney Tampa Insurance Attorneys Timeshare Timesharing Uncategorized HD Law Partners is proud to be your trusted full-service law firm Quick Links Property & Casualty Business & Corporate Litigation Family Law Contact Us Careers Get In Touch 2002 North Lois Avenue Suite 510 Tampa, FL 33607 813-253-5333 Contact Us