The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act provides access to information and meetings held by public agencies.  The South Carolina Department of Insurance complies with the requirements of the FOIA and makes available to the public those records subject to disclosure under the FOIA that are not otherwise afforded confidential treatment by some other provision of the law.  Records of South Carolina Deparmtent of Insurance (hereinafter "Department") are open to the public for inspection and copying pursuant to, and subject to any limitations of, the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), S.C. Code Ann. 30-4-10 et seq. (1976, as amended).

In order to ensure open access, accountablility, and timely and appropriate response to the public, all requests for infomation will be coordinated through the Office of Legal Services.

Receipt of Request/Procedure to Process.  All FOI requests must be in writing.  No particular form is required.  If the requested records are available, the Office of Legal Services shall coorinate with appropriate program areas to arrange for retrieval, review and/or copying of records.  Review of records shall be by appointment only.  Review of records will ordinarily take place within the Department.  Designated Department staff will be responsible for establishing and coordinating procedures with office/program areas for all FOIA requests.

Referral of Requests to Counsel.  Certain requests which may involve ongoing litigation, enforcement activities, or confidentiality may be referred to the Counsel for advice, or where appropriate, a response.

Certain requests may require a determination to be made regarding confidentiality, trade secret, or other FOIA or seperate statutory exemption from release.  In such cases, the requestor will be notified that the files are not immediately available and that they will be contacted by the Department upon determination regarding exemption by the Department.

Response to Request/Notification.  Within fifteen working days of receipt of a written FOI request, the Department must, in accordance with Section 30-4-30(c), make a determination in writing to the requestor regarding the release of the requested records.

If the records are available, the requestor will be notified and instructed to contact the Department to schedule a time and place where the records may be inspected or copied and will be advised of any charges that apply.

Policy on Fees.  Section 30-4-30(b) provides for the establishment and collection of reasonable fees and for certain exemptions.  These fees are subject to change.  A current schedule of fees will be available from the FOI Coordinator.  Fees will include both the cost of reproduction and personnel costs for research and retrieval. 

The standard charge for copeis is $.25 plus tax per page copied.  There is also a fee for labor involved in researching and making copies.  The cost of postage will also be assessed unless an email address is included for the documents to be provided in that manner.  Copies for some items, like insurer annual reports, have a standard cost imposed based on the effort required to make the copies, as well as the number of pages. 

SCDOI Contact Information

Phone: 803-737-6200
Email: sdubois@doi.sc.gov

Physical Address

SC Department of Insurance
Legal Division (FOIA)
1201 Main Street, Suite 1000
Columbia, SC 29201

Mailing Address

SC Department of Insurance
Legal Division (FOIA)
PO Box 100105
Columbia, SC 29202-3105