NY State Senate Bill 2009-S330

Senate Bill S330

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Requires insurers to report annually on the types of coverage written, premiums charged, losses incurred, and policy non-renewals and cancellations

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to insurance
Jan 07, 2009	referred to insurance

2009-S330 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2315, Ins L

2009-S330 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the Residential Insurance Market Relief Act of 2009; requires insurers to report annually on the types of coverage written, premiums charged, losses incurred, and policy non-renewals and cancellations.

2009-S330 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S330

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring insurers
to report annually on the types of coverage written, premiums charged,
losses incurred, and policy non-renewals and cancellations


 PURPOSE :

This bill will decrease inequities in the residential insurance
market, help consumers make informed decisions on coverage, and assist
regulators and policymakers guarding - against such inequities by
requiring insurers to report annually on the types of coverage
written, premiums, losses, nonrenewals and cancellations, and other
information, according to the United States census tract.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Sets out the title: "Residential Insurance Market Relief
Act of 2009".

Section 2: Amends Section 2315 of the Insurance law by adding the new
Subsections (a-1), (f), (g), and (h) as follows:  (a-1) Requires
residential property insurers to file a residential insurance rate,

experience and statistical report by March 31st of each year.
Describes the types of coverage subject to the reporting and specifies
the information for each form. Authorizes the Superintendent of
Insurance to determine the form of the report which includes but is
not limited to the following: (i) the number of policies in effect,
(ii) the number of applications accepted and denied, (iii) the number
of claims filed and approved or denied, (iv) the amount of losses
incurred, and (v) information on the race, national origin, ethnicity,
household income and gender of insureds or applicants (which will be
kept confidential).  (f): Specifies that the Superintendent must by
July 1st of each year make the text of the reports available to the
public in printed or electronic format at nominal cost, and that
insurers must file with the Superintendent and make available to the
public, in addition to the cumulative data required, individual record
data from which the report summaries were tabulated.

(g) Provides penalties for insurers, who fail to comply with the new
reporting requirements and 2) allows aggrieved individuals to have a
cause of action to seek compliance.  Superintendent must by July 1st
of each year make the text of the reports available to the public in
printed or electronic format at nominal cost, and that insurers must
file with the

(h) Authorizes insurers to submit a statistical report for calendar
year 2009 and provides the Superintendent to permit the insurer to
classify the data by the United States postal zip code rather than
census tract designation, for the report due in calendar year 2010.

Section 3 provides that this act shall take effect immediately.

 JUSTIFICATION :

The availability of affordable and quality residential insurance
coverage is a cornerstone of vibrant communities. While it is known
that it is easier to get good quality insurance coverage in some
neighborhoods, but not in others, there is debate over the cause for
this disparity and possible solutions. Critics of the insurance
industry point to redlining and discrimination as a cause, while
industry officials say greater risks from fire, theft and other
factors account for the inequities. Confronted with a similar debate
in the area of mortgage lending, Congress enacted the Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act (HMDA) in 1975 to require banks to provide detailed
disclosure of mortgage lending activity by census tract.  To this end,
the New York State legislature recognizes the importance of a holistic
solution to the inequities in the residential insurance market; one
which defines the problem, provides additional consumer protections
and holds insurers accountable. Since there is no uniform method to
providing disclosures in the insurance market, this legislation
appropriately characterizes disclosure requirements for insurance
companies.  The Residential Insurance Market Relief Act of 2008 will
require all insurance companies in New York State to provide detailed
annual disclosure regarding the policies they write, what benefits
they contain, the geographic location of the risks, the premiums they
receive, the losses they paid out for the coverage, information on
non-renewals and cancellations and the ethnic and income make-up of
their insureds. Some of this information is already required by law,
but is inaccessible to the public. This information will not only
benefit insurance consumers but it will assist regulators and
lawmakers in providing remedies for abrupt non-renewals and other
inequities in the insurance market due to racial, ethnic and income
disparities. Systematic collection of insurance data will allow us to
determine whether there is a need for different statutory criteria for
rate setting and underwriting rules.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2007/2008 - S.7937 Remained in the Senate Committee on Insurance

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.

2009-S330 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                   330

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 7, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. BRESLIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance

AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring insurers  to
  report  annually  on  the types of coverage written, premiums charged,
  losses incurred, and policy non-renewals and cancellations

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the "Residential Insurance Market Relief Act of 2009".
  S 2. Section 2315 of the insurance law is amended by adding  four  new
subsections (a-1), (f), (g) and (h) to read as follows:
  (A-1)   (1)   EACH   RESIDENTIAL  PROPERTY  INSURER  SHALL,  BY  MARCH
THIRTY-FIRST OF EACH YEAR, FILE WITH THE RATE  SERVICE  ORGANIZATION  OF
WHICH  IT  IS  A  MEMBER OR SUBSCRIBER, OR WITH SUCH OTHER AGENCY AS THE
SUPERINTENDENT MAY APPROVE, A RESIDENTIAL INSURANCE RATE, EXPERIENCE AND
STATISTICAL REPORT, IN SUCH FORM AS THE  SUPERINTENDENT  SHALL  APPROVE,
BUT INCLUDING, AT A MINIMUM, INFORMATION SPECIFYING, AS SUCH INFORMATION
RELATES  TO THE PREVIOUS CALENDAR YEAR AND FOR EACH FORM, RATING CLASSI-
FICATION AND TIER, WHERE APPLICABLE,  WITH  THE  INFORMATION  CLASSIFIED
ACCORDING TO UNITED STATES CENSUS TRACT, THE FOLLOWING:
  (A) THE NUMBER OF POLICIES ISSUED BY THE INSURER IN EFFECT;
  (B) THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED AND THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS
DENIED BY THE INSURER;
  (C)  THE  NUMBER  OF  NON-RENEWALS,  CANCELLATIONS AND TERMINATIONS OF
POLICIES ISSUED BY THE INSURER;
  (D) THE NUMBER OF CLAIMS FILED BY POLICY HOLDERS AND  THE  PERCENT  OF
SUCH CLAIMS APPROVED AND THE PERCENT OF SUCH CLAIMS DENIED BY THE INSUR-
ER;
  (E) THE AMOUNT OF LOSSES INCURRED;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03613-01-9

S. 330                              2

  (F)  INFORMATION  ON  THE  RACE, NATIONAL ORIGIN, ETHNICITY, HOUSEHOLD
INCOME AND GENDER OF INSUREDS OR APPLICANTS; AND
  (G)  INFORMATION  PERTAINING  TO RATES CHARGED BY THE INSURER AND SUCH
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AS THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL DEEM NECESSARY JUSTI-
FYING OR SUPPORTING SUCH RATES.
  (F) THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL, BY JULY FIRST OF  EACH  YEAR,  MAKE  THE
TEXT  OF  THE  REPORTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC IN PRINTED AND ELECTRONIC
FORMAT AT NO OR NOMINAL COST AND INSURERS SHALL  FILE  WITH  THE  SUPER-
INTENDENT  AND  MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, IN ADDITION TO THE CUMULA-
TIVE DATA REQUIRED, INDIVIDUAL RECORD DATA FROM WHICH THE REPORT  SUMMA-
RIES WERE TABULATED.
  (G)(1)  ANY INSURER FAILING TO FILE, WHEN DUE, A COMPLETED RESIDENTIAL
INSURANCE    RATE,  EXPERIENCE  AND  STATISTICAL  REPORT   PURSUANT   TO
SUBSECTION (A-ONE) OF THIS SECTION SHALL  BE SUBJECT TO A PENALTY NOT TO
EXCEED  ONE  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  PER DAY FOR EACH DAY BEYOND THE DATE THE
REPORT OR INFORMATION IS REQUIRED TO BE FILED, BUT  IN  NO  EVENT  SHALL
SUCH PENALTY EXCEED FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS IN THE AGGREGATE; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER  THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT MAY WAIVE SUCH A PENALTY UPON A WRITTEN
FINDING THAT THE REPORT OR OTHER INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY  SUCH  INSURER
ON  THE  DATE  REQUIRED  WAS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE, AND THE INSURER HAS
CORRECTED ANY DEFICIENCIES WITHIN A DATE SET BY THE  SUPERINTENDENT.  AN
INSURER  REQUIRED  BY  THIS SUBSECTION TO SUBMIT A STATISTICAL REPORT OR
OTHER INFORMATION WHO REFUSES OR WILLFULLY FAILS TO  FILE  SUCH  STATIS-
TICAL REPORT OR OTHER INFORMATION SHALL, IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER PENAL-
TIES  PROVIDED FOR BY THIS CHAPTER, UPON NOTICE AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE
HEARD, BE SUBJECT TO AN ADDITIONAL PENALTY OF UP TO FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS
PER DAY OF DELAY, NOT TO EXCEED  FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS  IN  THE  AGGRE-
GATE.
  (2)  WHERE  AN  INSURER  HAS FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF
SUBSECTION (A-ONE) OF THIS SECTION, AN AGGRIEVED  INDIVIDUAL,  INCLUDING
ANY PERSON OR AGENCY ATTEMPTING TO ANALYZE THE PERFORMANCE OF ANY INSUR-
ER SUBJECT TO THIS SECTION, SHALL HAVE A CAUSE OF ACTION IN ANY COURT OF
COMPETENT  JURISDICTION  FOR  DECLARATORY  AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. IN ANY
ACTION OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, THE COURT, IN ITS
DISCRETION, MAY AWARD COSTS AND REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES TO THE SUCCESS-
FUL PARTY.
  (H) UPON APPLICATION BY AN INSURER REQUIRED BY SUBSECTION  (A-ONE)  OF
THIS SECTION TO SUBMIT A STATISTICAL REPORT OR OTHER INFORMATION FOR THE
CALENDAR  YEAR  TWO  THOUSAND  NINE,  THE SUPERINTENDENT MAY PERMIT SUCH
INSURER TO CLASSIFY THE DATA BY UNITED STATES POSTAL  ZIP  CODE,  RATHER
THAN  CENSUS  TRACT DESIGNATION, FOR THE REPORT DUE IN CALENDAR YEAR TWO
THOUSAND TEN.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.