S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1439
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 12, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  SIMON,  HOOPER, BRINDISI, GOTTFRIED, JAFFEE,
   ORTIZ, RICHARDSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GALEF, LAWRENCE --
   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 owner's policy of liability insurance

   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 of section 311 of the  vehi-
 cle  and  traffic law, as amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995, is
 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]
 TWO  HUNDRED  thousand dollars because of bodily injuries to and [fifty]
 THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of death of one person in any one
              

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00789-01-7

 A. 1439                             2
 
 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] FOUR 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
   §  2.  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,
 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 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] TWO HUNDRED thousand dollars for any one person, and
   (4) [one] FOUR hundred thousand dollars on account of  death  to  more
 than  one  person  in  any  one accident subject to the limit of [fifty]
 THREE HUNDRED thousand dollars for any one person.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.