S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7979
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 29, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON -- 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  required  for
   motor vehicles 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]  TITLE,  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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD10547-02-9

 A. 7979                             2
 
 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] FIFTY thousand dollars because of bodily injuries  to  and
 [fifty]  ONE  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] ONE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of bodily injury to and
 [one] TWO 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]  FIFTY  thou-
 sand dollars in cash, or securities, such as may legally be purchased by
 savings  banks  or trust funds, of a market value of [twenty-five] 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.
   §  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] FIFTY thousand dollars because of bodily injury
 to or [fifty] ONE 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] ONE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of bodily injury
 to or [one] TWO 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. The limit, exclusive of interest and costs, with

 A. 7979                             3
 
 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.
   § 3. Paragraph 1 of subsection (f) of section 3420  of  the  insurance
 law,  as  amended by section 19 of part III of chapter 59 of the laws of
 2019, 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 or an
 altered motor vehicle commonly referred  to  as  a  "stretch  limousine"
 having  a seating capacity of eight or more passengers used in the busi-
 ness of carrying or transporting passengers for  hire,  by  the  insured
 shall  be  issued  or delivered by any authorized insurer upon any motor
 vehicle or an altered motor vehicle commonly referred to as  a  "stretch
 limousine" having a seating capacity of eight or more passengers used in
 the business of carrying or transporting passengers for hire, then prin-
 cipally  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 directors of the Motor  Vehicle
 Accident Indemnification Corporation and approved by the superintendent,
 all sums, not exceeding a maximum amount or limit of [twenty-five] FIFTY
 thousand  dollars  exclusive of interest and costs, on account of injury
 to and all sums, not exceeding a maximum amount or limit of [fifty]  ONE
 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]
 ONE HUNDRED thousand dollars or so killed of [one] TWO hundred  thousand
 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 representative 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 regis-
 tered 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 vehi-
 cle  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, main-
 tenance  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  aforesaid  provisions  shall  be  construed  as  if   such
 provisions were embodied therein.

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   §  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,
 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] FIFTY thousand dollars on account of injury  to  one
 person in any one accident, and
   (2)  [fifty]  ONE  HUNDRED thousand dollars on account of death to one
 person in any one accident, and
   (3) [fifty] ONE HUNDRED thousand dollars on account of injury to  more
 than  one  person  in  any one accident subject to the limit of [twenty-
 five] FIFTY thousand dollars for any one person, and
   (4) [one] TWO hundred thousand dollars on account  of  death  to  more
 than  one person in any one accident subject to the limit of [fifty] ONE
 HUNDRED thousand dollars for any one person.
   § 5. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
 manner  as  section  19  of  part III of chapter 59 of the laws of 2019,
 takes effect.