At this time, the Minnesota Department of Commerce sends the questionnaires prior to the company's regulatory financial examination, every five years for insurance companies and every 3 years for Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO's).

While there is no specific limit to the length of the responses, it is expected that the responses will consist of an executive summary, generally describing how specific risks are handled within the organization, rather than extremely detailed responses. We will request further information if necessary.

In general, we are not requiring such detailed information. If the company believes a document would assist in our understanding, the company should mention the document in its reply. We will request further information if necessary.

Only narrative responses are appropriate for the CARRMEL questionnaire. The "impact" and "probability" ratings pertain to the ERM Questionnaire.

The main focus should be on economic loss. Question #30 addresses financial statement presentation risk from a controls and management perspective. Question # 43 addresses financial presentation risk from a legal perspective. To the extent that economic loss could be caused by presentation errors, economic loss should remain the focus.

No. The score for residual risk is calculated rather than entered.

This option allows responses to be reviewed. It is intended to be a starting reference point for data entry.

The questionnaires themselves are public. However, the responses may contain sensitive, confidential information and are protected as examination work-papers. (Minnesota Statutes §60A.03).

We anticipates that the responses may be shared with other insurance departments, as part of the current development of consistent standards for surveillance and examination.

Information will be shared with other insurance departments only after they have provided the proper confidentiality agreements.

Companies need Microsoft Access version 2000 and above to complete the questionnaire. It is recommended that the questionnaire file be placed on a shared network drive. This can be helpful if the individuals completing the various sections of the questionnaires are from different organization units.

The completed questionnaires should be copied onto a disk and mailed to the following address:

Minnesota Department of Commerce 

C/O Peter Foley II, Insurance Examinations Coordinator 

85 7th Place E. Suite 500 

St. Paul, MN 55101

Please complete and submit the questionnaires using the Microsoft Access database format. If you decide to make the updates in Microsoft Word, please be sure to cut and paste your responses into the MS Access database.

Contact Insurance Examinations Coordinator Peter Foley II at (651) 296-8541, or email peter.foley@state.mn.us.