S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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10136
I N A S S E M B L Y
May 9, 2012
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRENNAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the insurance law, in
relation to increasing the minimum insurance coverage requirements for
automobiles registered and/or operated within the state of New York
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 and subdivision 7 of section
311 of the vehicle and traffic law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 as
amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995 and subdivision 7 as amended
by chapter 805 of the laws of 1984, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Affording coverage as defined in the minimum provisions prescribed
in a regulation which shall be promulgated by the superintendent at
least ninety days prior to effective date of this act. The superinten-
dent before promulgating such regulations or any amendment thereof,
shall consult with all insurers licensed to write automobile liability
insurance in this state and shall not prescribe minimum provisions which
fail to reflect the provisions of automobile liability insurance poli-
cies, other than motor vehicle liability policies as defined in section
three hundred forty-five of this chapter, issued within this state at
the date of such regulation or amendment thereof. Nothing contained in
such regulation or in this article shall prohibit any insurer from
affording coverage under an owner's policy of liability insurance more
liberal than that required by said minimum provisions. Every such
owner's policy of liability insurance shall provide insurance subject to
said regulation against loss from the liability imposed by law for
damages, including damages for care and loss of services, because of
bodily injury to or death of any person and injury to or destruction of
property arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use, or operation of
a specific motor vehicle or motor vehicles within the state of New York,
or elsewhere in the United States in North America or the Dominion of
Canada, subject to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, with
respect to each such motor vehicle except a tow truck, of [twenty-five]
ONE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of bodily injuries to and [fifty]
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15730-01-2
A. 10136 2
THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of death of one person in any one
accident and, subject to said limit for one person, to a limit of
[fifty] THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of bodily injury to and
[one] FIVE hundred thousand dollars because of death of two or more
persons in any one accident, and to a limit of [ten] TWENTY-FIVE thou-
sand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others
in any one accident provided, however, that such policy need not be for
a period coterminous with the registration period of the vehicle
insured. The limit, exclusive of interest and costs, with respect to a
tow truck shall be a combined single limit of at least three hundred
thousand dollars because of bodily injury or death to one or more
persons or because of injury or destruction of property of others in any
one accident, and to a limit of twenty-five thousand dollars because of
damage to a vehicle in the care, custody and control of the insured. Any
insurer authorized to issue an owner's policy of liability insurance as
provided for in this article may, pending the issue of such a policy,
make an agreement, to be known as a binder, or may, in lieu of such a
policy, issue a renewal endorsement or evidence of renewal of an exist-
ing policy; each of which shall be construed to provide indemnity or
protection in like manner and to the same extent as such a policy. The
provisions of this article shall apply to such binders, renewal endorse-
ments or evidences of renewal. Every such policy issued insuring private
passenger vehicles and every renewal policy, renewal endorsement, or
other evidence of renewal issued shall have attached thereto a rating
information form which clearly specifies and defines the rating classi-
fication assigned thereto, including any applicable merit rating plan;
and
7. The term "financial security deposit" shall mean for each motor
vehicle the deposit with the commissioner of [twenty-five] ONE HUNDRED
thousand dollars in cash, or securities, such as may legally be
purchased by savings banks or trust funds, of a market value of [twen-
ty-five] ONE HUNDRED thousand dollars and an additional deposit in an
amount determined by the commissioner to be sufficient to satisfy the
requirements of article fifty-one of the insurance law.
S 2. Paragraph 3 of subdivision (b) of section 345 of the vehicle and
traffic law, as amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995, is amended
to read as follows:
(3) Shall insure the insured or such other person against loss from
the liability imposed by law for damages, including damages for care and
loss of services because of bodily injury to or death of any person and
injury to or destruction of property arising out of the ownership, main-
tenance, use, or operation of such motor vehicle or motor vehicles with-
in the state of New York, or elsewhere in the United States in North
America or the Dominion of Canada, subject to a limit, exclusive of
interest and cost, with respect to each such motor vehicle, except a tow
truck, of [twenty-five] ONE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of bodily
injury to or [fifty] THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of death of
one person in any one accident and, subject to said limit for one
person, to a limit of [fifty] THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of
bodily injury to or [one] FIVE hundred thousand dollars because of death
of two or more persons in any one accident, and to a limit of [ten]
TWENTY-FIVE thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of
property of others in any one accident. The limit, exclusive of interest
and costs, with respect to a tow truck shall be a combined single limit
of three hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury of death to
one or more persons or because of injury or destruction of property of
A. 10136 3
others in any one accident, and to a limit of twenty-five thousand
dollars because of damage to a vehicle in the care, custody and control
of the insured.
S 3. Paragraph 1 of subsection (f) of section 3420 of the insurance
law, as amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read
as follows:
(1) No policy insuring against loss resulting from liability imposed
by law for bodily injury or death suffered by any natural person arising
out of the ownership, maintenance and use of a motor vehicle by the
insured shall be issued or delivered by any authorized insurer upon any
motor vehicle then principally garaged or principally used in this state
unless it contains a provision whereby the insurer agrees that it will
pay to the insured, as defined in such provision, subject to the terms
and conditions set forth therein to be prescribed by the board of direc-
tors of the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation and
approved by the superintendent, all sums, not exceeding a maximum amount
or limit of [twenty-five] ONE HUNDRED thousand dollars exclusive of
interest and costs, on account of injury to and all sums, not exceeding
a maximum amount or limit of [fifty] THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars
exclusive of interest and costs, on account of death of one person, in
any one accident, and the maximum amount or limit, subject to such limit
for any one person so injured of [fifty] THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars
or so killed of [one] FIVE hundred thousand dollars, exclusive of inter-
est and costs, on account of injury to, or death of, more than one
person in any one accident, which the insured or his legal represen-
tative shall be entitled to recover as damages from an owner or operator
of an uninsured motor vehicle, unidentified motor vehicle which leaves
the scene of an accident, a motor vehicle registered in this state as to
which at the time of the accident there was not in effect a policy of
liability insurance, a stolen vehicle, a motor vehicle operated without
permission of the owner, an insured motor vehicle where the insurer
disclaims liability or denies coverage or an unregistered vehicle
because of bodily injury, sickness or disease, including death resulting
therefrom, sustained by the insured, caused by accident occurring in
this state and arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of such
motor vehicle. No payment for non-economic loss shall be made under such
policy provision to a covered person unless such person has incurred a
serious injury, as such terms are defined in section five thousand one
hundred two of this chapter. Such policy shall not duplicate any element
of basic economic loss provided for under article fifty-one of this
chapter. No payments of first party benefits for basic economic loss
made pursuant to such article shall diminish the obligations of the
insurer under this policy provision for the payment of non-economic loss
and economic loss in excess of basic economic loss. Notwithstanding any
inconsistent provisions of section three thousand four hundred twenty-
five of this article, any such policy which does not contain the afore-
said provisions shall be construed as if such provisions were embodied
therein.
S 4. Subsection (a) of section 5210 of the insurance law, as amended
by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
(a) When any qualified person who has complied with all the applicable
requirements of this article recovers a final judgment in a court
against a financially irresponsible motorist, for injury to, or death
of, any person arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the
uninsured motor vehicle in this state, which remains unpaid, and all
appeals have been concluded or the time for commencing them has expired,
A. 10136 4
the judgment creditor may file a verified petition in the court in which
the judgment was entered and, upon ten days' written notice to the
corporation apply to the court for an order directing payment by the
corporation of the amount unpaid on the judgment. However, there shall
be no right of recovery by a covered person from the corporation for
non-economic loss unless such person has incurred a serious injury, as
such terms are defined in section five thousand one hundred two of this
chapter. Such judgment exclusive of interest and costs shall not
exceed:
(1) [twenty-five] ONE HUNDRED thousand dollars on account of injury to
one person in any one accident, and
(2) [fifty] THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars on account of death to one
person in any one accident, and
(3) [fifty] THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars on account of injury to
more than one person in any one accident subject to the limit of twen-
ty-five thousand dollars for any one person, and
(4) [one] FIVE hundred thousand dollars on account of death to more
than one person in any one accident subject to the limit of fifty thou-
sand dollars for any one person.
S 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
is shall have become a law.