Documents Produced in Reinsurance Audit are Discoverable, N.Y. Federal Magistrate Judge Rules

NEW YORK — Documents produced in a Montana insurance regulator’s audit of a captive reinsurer owned by Safebuilt Insurance Services Inc. are not privileged under Montana law and are thus discoverable in an action accusing Safebuilt of mismanaging its captives, a New York federal magistrate has held.

On May 16, Magistrate Judge James L. Cott held that the protection of Montana Code Annotated Section 33-28-108(3) only protects documents in the possession of the regulator, rather than the examined company.

Under the “Safebuilt Reinsurance Program,” Safebuilt Insurance Services, an entity controlled by David Pike and Philip Salvagio, was to underwrite primary …