An insurer has collected personal and privileged information about an applicant during underwriting. Under Va. Code § 38.2-613, when may the insurer disclose that information?

Why C is correct

Va. Code § 38.2-613 restricts the use and disclosure of insurance information: personal and privileged information an insurer holds about an individual may be disclosed only as the statute permits — for example, with the individual's authorization or under another lawful basis recognized by Virginia law. The insurer does not own the individual's information in a commercial sense; the statute fences it in. Disclosure outside the permitted circumstances exposes the insurer to regulatory action through the Virginia Bureau of Insurance.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) Profitability is no basis for disclosure under Va. Code § 38.2-613; the statute permits disclosure only in defined circumstances, and marketing lists are not among them.
• B) An unlimited business-purpose exception does not exist; the statute's permission structure, not the insurer's judgment, controls disclosure.
• D) Public notice is not the mechanism; the statute authorizes disclosure on defined legal grounds such as the individual's authorization, not through published objections.

Memory hook

Insurance info stays fenced — out only through a gate the law opens.