NY State Senate Bill 2021-S4775

Senate Bill S4775

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Permits non-commercial private passenger car insurance to provide for an actuarially appropriate reduction in premium for cars with automotive monitoring devices

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

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to insurance
Feb 11, 2021	referred to insurance

2021-S4775 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9251
Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2336, Ins L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S6628, A9748
2013-2014: S2001, A803
2015-2016: S1663, A3081
2017-2018: S392, A5435
2019-2020: S3483, A4209
2023-2024: A415

2021-S4775 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires any schedule or rating plan for non-commercial private passenger automobile insurance to provide for an actuarially appropriate reduction in premium charges for bodily injury liability, property damage liability, personal injury protection, medical payments and collision coverage with respect to automobiles equipped with an automotive safety monitoring device for parental monitoring of drivers under the age of 22; establishes qualifications and standards for the approval, utilization and installation of such devices.

2021-S4775 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4775

SPONSOR: REICHLIN-MELNICK
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to providing premium
reductions for non-commercial motor vehicles equipped with automotive
safety monitoring devices

 
PURPOSE:

To provide for an actuarially appropriate reduction in automobile insur-
ance rates for those vehicles that have installed an automotive safety
monitoring device. The intent of using such devices is to provide
parents and guardians of new drivers under the age of 22 with the abili-
ty to monitor the driving habits of such young and inexperienced driv-
ers.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one adds a new subsection, (i) to section 2336 of the insurance

law to provide for an actuarially appropriate reduction in premiums for
vehicles that are equipped with automotive safety monitoring devices.
Such devices shall be capable of alerting the parent or guardian of a
minor child who is operating a vehicle that the car is being driven in
an unsafe manner or outside of time or location curfew restrictions.
Such devices should help to monitor vehicular speed, location, distance
and direction traveled, acceleration and braking patterns, the number of
passengers in the vehicle, and other data that could indicate whether
the car is being driven in an unsafe manner. The Superintendent of
Financial Services, in consultation with the Department of Motor Vehi-
cles, shall promulgate standards for the approval, utilization, and
installation of such safety devices.

Section two provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Drivers under the age of 21 are almost five times more likely to be
involved in a fatal auto accident than drivers between the ages of 30
and 69. According to the CDC motor vehicle crashes are the second lead-
ing cause of death for U.S. teens. In 2018, nearly 2,500 teens between
the ages of 13-19 were killed as the result of a motor vehicle crash.
Additionally, about 285,000 teens in the same age group were treated in
emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. On
average, this amounts to about seven teens aged 13-19 dying due to motor
vehicle crashes, and hundreds more being injured everyday.

There are several reasons for the high death and injury rate among teen-
agers in automobiles. Among the reasons are teen inexperience behind the
wheel, higher levels of alcohol consumption, the tendency for such driv-
ers to be more aggressive and reckless in traffic conditions, the non-
use of seat belts, and because teens tend to drive smaller cars that
offer less protection and which are more susceptible to rollovers. Auto-
motive safety monitoring devices - such as CarChip, DriveSafe, Real-Time
Tracking, RS-1000 Teen Driving System, SmartDriver, and TravelEyes2 - do
exist. Further, these systems, and others, have demonstrated their
effectiveness in enabling parents and guardians of minor drivers to
monitor a youth's driving habits. Many teenagers, knowing their parents
can track their driving habits, may think twice about driving recklessly
or traveling to destinations far from home. In addition, teens may be
more likely to drive safer if they know that their parents or guardians
are monitoring their driving habits and could take away driving privi-
leges if curfews are not followed.

Instituting an actuarially appropriate rate reduction for those insured
that install proven safety monitoring systems could reduce insurance
rates for targeted populations by up to 25 percent. More importantly, it
could save lives. The cost for installing these safety monitoring
devices range from $160 up to $500, plus a monthly service fee. Encour-
age-aging parents to install these devices is a sound public policy to
reduce teen deaths and injuries and the injury or death of other driv-
ers.  A few such driver safety monitoring programs have been operating
in New York, however, there is no statutory program to authorize their
use.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: S3483 - referred to Insurance

2017-18: S362 - referred to Insurance

2015-16: S1663 - referred to Insurance

2013-14: S2001 - referred to Insurance

2011-12: S6628 - referred to Insurance

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all policies
issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such date.

2021-S4775 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4775
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 11, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. REICHLIN-MELNICK -- 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  providing  premium
   reductions  for non-commercial motor vehicles equipped with automotive
   safety monitoring devices

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  2336 of the insurance law is amended by adding a
 new subsection (i) to read as follows:
   (I) ANY SCHEDULE OR RATING PLAN FOR NON-COMMERCIAL  PRIVATE  PASSENGER
 AUTOMOBILE  INSURANCE  MAY  ALSO  PROVIDE FOR AN ACTUARIALLY APPROPRIATE
 REDUCTION IN PREMIUM  CHARGES  FOR  BODILY  INJURY  LIABILITY,  PROPERTY
 DAMAGE  LIABILITY,  PERSONAL  INJURY  PROTECTION,  MEDICAL  PAYMENTS AND
 COLLISION COVERAGE WITH RESPECT TO AUTOMOBILES EQUIPPED WITH AN  AUTOMO-
 TIVE SAFETY MONITORING DEVICE.
   (1) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBSECTION:
   (A)  (I)  "AUTOMOTIVE  SAFETY MONITORING DEVICE" SHALL MEAN A TRACKING
 DEVICE, GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM RECEIVER OR EVENT DATA  RECORDER  THAT
 IS  INSTALLED  ON  AN AUTOMOBILE THAT ALLOWS A DRIVER OR A MINOR CHILD'S
 PARENT OR GUARDIAN TO MONITOR VEHICLE  SPEED,  ACCELERATION  OR  BRAKING
 PATTERNS,  DISTANCE  OR  DIRECTION TRAVELED, THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS IN
 SUCH AUTOMOBILE, WHETHER PASSENGERS ARE WEARING SEAT BELTS, THE LOCATION
 OF THE AUTOMOBILE OR OTHER SAFETY INDICIA WHEN SUCH AUTOMOBILE IS  BEING
 OPERATED BY AN AUTHORIZED MINOR OPERATOR.
   (II)  SUCH  DEVICE NEED NOT BE PERMANENTLY INSTALLED BUT MUST HAVE THE
 CAPABILITY TO ACCURATELY MONITOR THE OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE AND NOTIFY
 PARENTS OR GUARDIANS OF THE LOCATION OF SUCH  AUTOMOBILE  OR  OF  UNSAFE
 VEHICULAR  MOVEMENTS  THAT ARE OCCURRING WHILE SUCH VEHICLE IS UNDER THE
 CONTROL OF A MINOR VEHICLE OPERATOR.
   (III) SUCH DEVICE MAY INCLUDE A REMOVABLE DEVICE OR CHIP WHICH  INTER-
 FACES  WITH  THE AUTOMOBILE'S ONBOARD DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM PORT AND RECORDS
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD08274-01-1

 S. 4775                             2
 
 DATA FROM THE MANUFACTURER'S EVENT  DATA  RECORDER;  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,
 THAT SUCH DEVICE HAS THE CAPACITY TO ACCURATELY MONITOR THE OPERATION OF
 THE AUTOMOBILE.
   (B)  "MINOR  CHILD"  SHALL  MEAN  A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF TWENTY-TWO
 YEARS WHO HOLDS A LICENSE TO OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE.
   (2) THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF
 MOTOR VEHICLES, PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS TO ESTABLISH QUALIFICA-
 TIONS AND STANDARDS FOR THE APPROVAL, UTILIZATION  AND  INSTALLATION  OF
 AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY MONITORING DEVICES.
   (3)  NOTHING IN THIS SUBSECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO PREVENT AN AUTO-
 MOBILE INSURER FROM  PROVIDING  ACTUARIALLY  APPROPRIATE  REDUCTIONS  IN
 PREMIUM  CHARGES FOR BODILY INJURY LIABILITY, PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY,
 PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION, MEDICAL PAYMENTS AND COLLISION COVERAGE  FOR
 COMMERCIAL  AUTOMOBILE  INSURANCE  POLICIES  TO  ANY OTHER INSURED WHOSE
 AUTOMOBILE IS EQUIPPED WITH AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY MONITORING DEVICES.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing  the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all
 policies issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after  such
 date.    Effective  immediately the addition, amendment and/or repeal of
 any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this  act  on
 its  effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before
 such date.

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