Commentary Flood insurance obligations Section 72: Information
259.Section 72 provides for the Secretary of State to set out in regulations arrangements for the provision of information or production of documents by insurers for the purposes of the requirements on insurers under section 70. Subsection (2) provides for regulations that give the Secretary of State or a person acting on his behalf the power to require certain documents or information that help demonstrate whether or not the insurer is a “relevant insurer” or whether an exemption applies under subsection (5)(b). Subsection (3) provides further detail on the types of information or documents that may be required from insurers in the regulations and subsection (4) provides for the regulations to specify whether the information should be provided to the Secretary of State or a person acting on the Secretary of State’s behalf.
260.Subsection (5) is about how information and documents are to be delivered and how they are to be verified or authenticated. In subsection (6) the regulations may put limits on what persons receiving the information may then do with it. The regulations may also allow the Secretary of State to publish information about the amount of business done by the insurance industry as a whole in relation to prescribed risks. This will enable insurers to calculate their targets in line with the regulations made under section 70.