S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  2795

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 20, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  BRENNAN,  LAVINE, ROSENTHAL, MILLER, TITONE,
  WEPRIN, ROBERTS, COOK -- Multi-Sponsored by  --  M.  of  A.  ABINANTI,
  GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the Committee 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,

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01272-01-5
              

A. 2795                             2

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]
TWO  HUNDRED  FIFTY  thousand  dollars because of bodily injuries to and
[fifty] FIVE 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] FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of bodily injury to and
one [hundred thousand] MILLION 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]  TWO  HUNDRED
FIFTY  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] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY 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]  TWO HUNDRED FIFTY thousand dollars because of
bodily injury to or [fifty] FIVE 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] FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars  because
of bodily injury to or one [hundred thousand] MILLION 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

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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 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] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY thousand dollars exclusive
of interest and costs, on account of injury to and all sums, not exceed-
ing a maximum amount or limit of [fifty] FIVE 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] FIVE HUNDRED  thousand  dollars
or  so  killed  of  one [hundred thousand] MILLION dollars, exclusive of
interest 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

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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,
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] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY thousand  dollars  on  account  of
injury to one person in any one accident, and
  (2)  [fifty]  FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars on account of death to one
person in any one accident, and
  (3) [fifty] FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars on account of injury to more
than one person in any one accident subject to the limit of  twenty-five
thousand dollars for any one person, and
  (4) one [hundred thousand] MILLION 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.