Domestic and Foreign Bulletin No. 148Adopted

AI governance for Delaware carriers

The Delaware Department of Insurance issued Domestic and Foreign Bulletin No. 148 on February 5, 2025, adopting guidance based on the NAIC Model Bulletin on the Use of AI Systems by Insurers. It reminds every carrier that decisions and actions impacting consumers must comply with Delaware insurance law regardless of whether an AI system supported them, including the laws on unfair trade practices, unfair claims settlement, and rate making. The bulletin lets a carrier's AIS Program rely in whole or in part on a recognized framework such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework v1.0, and it recognizes the NAIC's 2020 Principles on Artificial Intelligence as a source of guidance. It also preserves the Department's authority to request AI documentation during investigations and market conduct actions.

BulletinDomestic and Foreign Bulletin No. 148

IssuedFebruary 5, 2025

EffectiveUpon issuance

BasisNAIC model bulletin

What Delaware expects from your AIS Program

Delaware adopted the NAIC model with some changes. The four pillars below are the shared foundation.

Governance

A written program with clear ownership. Senior management is accountable to the board, and a cross-functional body oversees AI across its whole life cycle.

Risk Management & Internal Controls

Controls at every stage of the model life cycle, from data sourcing through retirement, sized to the potential harm to consumers.

Third-Party AI Systems & Data

The carrier stays responsible for AI it did not build. Vendor relationships need diligence, contract rights, and the ability to produce evidence.

Documentation & Audit-Readiness

Section 4 spells out what an examiner can ask for. Treating that list as a standing requirement is what keeps a program defensible.

Legal authority

The Delaware Department of Insurance grounds the bulletin in laws it already enforces:

Unfair Trade Practices Act18 Del. C. Ch. 23
Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act18 Del. C. § 2304(16)
Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure Act18 Del. C. Ch. 85
Delaware rate making laws18 Del. C. Chs. 25 and 26

Who it applies to

The bulletin reaches every entity holding a Delaware certificate of authority, including:

Property and casualty carriers
Life and annuity carriers
Health carriers and HMOs
All other carriers holding a Delaware certificate of authority

State-specific changes: Delaware tracks the NAIC model and expressly allows the AIS Program to adopt or incorporate a third-party framework such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework v1.0. The core program expectations match the national framework.

Learn the basics

Resources for Delaware carriers

Start with these plain-language explainers and field guides.

Guide

What is the NAIC Model Bulletin on AI?

The NAIC Model Bulletin on the Use of AI Systems by Insurers is the template most states use to set AI governance expectations. Here is what it says and why it matters.

Guide

What is an AIS Program?

An AI Systems Program (AIS Program) is the written program the NAIC Model Bulletin expects every carrier to maintain. Here are its four pillars and what each one requires.

Guide

What are the NAIC AI Principles?

The NAIC AI Principles, adopted in 2020, are the foundation beneath every state AI bulletin. The five principles spell FACTS: Fair, Accountable, Compliant, Transparent, and Secure.

Guide

AI in Insurance: Key Regulatory Definitions

The NAIC Model Bulletin defines the terms that carry legal weight, from AI System to Adverse Consumer Outcome to Model Drift. Here is what each one means for carriers.

Article

AI Governance for Insurance Carriers: Where AI Runs Across the Value Chain and What Regulators Expect

Insurance AI governance across underwriting, claims, catastrophe modeling, distribution, and cyber: where AI runs today, how its failures reach the loss ratio, and the evidence state regulators now expect carriers to produce.

Article

Reinsurance AI: How Reinsurers and Rating Agencies Are Underwriting Your AI

Reinsurers and rating agencies are already forming a view of the AI in your rating and claims stack. The treaty clauses, rating methodology, case history, and renewal evidence every carrier should understand.

Delaware AI governance FAQs

What is Delaware Bulletin No. 148?

It is the Domestic and Foreign Bulletin the Delaware Department of Insurance issued on February 5, 2025 adopting guidance based on the NAIC Model Bulletin on the Use of AI Systems by Insurers. It tells carriers that existing Delaware insurance laws apply to any decision an AI system touches and expects each carrier to maintain a written AIS Program.

Which companies have to comply in Delaware?

Any insurance carrier holding a Delaware certificate of authority, across property and casualty, life, and health lines. The bulletin is not limited to a single line of business.

Can our AIS Program use the NIST AI Risk Management Framework?

Yes. Bulletin No. 148 states the AIS Program may adopt, incorporate, or rely upon, in whole or in part, a framework developed by an official third-party standard organization, such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, Version 1.0.

How will Delaware enforce it?

Through existing authority. The bulletin grounds its expectations in the Unfair Trade Practices Act (18 Del. C. Ch. 23), the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (18 Del. C. § 2304), the Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure Act (18 Del. C. Ch. 85), and the rate making laws (18 Del. C. Chs. 25 and 26). The Department can request AI documentation during investigations and market conduct actions.

How does a Delaware carrier get ready?

Stand up a written AIS Program covering governance, risk management and internal controls, and third-party oversight, then keep model inventories, validation records, and a clear data-to-decision trail examination-ready.

Sources

Get audit-ready for Delaware Bulletin No. 148

Swept AI supervises your models and produces the AIS Program evidence Delaware examiners can request.