BILL NUMBER: S8320

SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to increasing the number
of properties eligible for the coastal market assistance program

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To increase the number of properties eligible for the coastal market
assistance program which serves property owners who cannot find property
insurance on the private market

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends subsection c of section 5414 of the insurance law to
expand coverage of the coastal market assistance program to properties
located within one mile of the shore and expands the definition of
"shore" to include more communities across the state.

Section 2 sets the effective date.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The increasing incidence of extreme weather events due to climate change
has led to severe and disastrous flooding around the state, much of it
in areas that have never experienced such events. As part of a compre-
hensive, statewide approach to ensuring resiliency, we must do more to
protect homeowners struggling to recover and rebuild after storms. This
includes ensuring that homeowners property insurance is available to
those living in communities that may be affected by adverse events.

The Coastal Market Assistance Program (CMAP), established under section
5414 of the insurance law after Hurricane Andrew, is meant to ensure
that homeowners are able to purchase coverage in areas where private
insurers are reluctant to go. Section 5414 provides that New York Prop-
erty Insurance Underwriting Association (NYPIUA) "shall create a coastal
market assistance program to provide a voluntary mechanism whereby
insurers and insurance agents and brokers facilitate efficient access to
participating private market insurance companies for those personal
residential property risks located in coastal areas."

NYPIUA policies do not include liability, flood, or theft coverage, but
provide homeowners insurance coverage in hard to cover areas.'

CMAP currently applies to properties within 2500 feet of the shoreline
in the Bronx and Westchester and Long Island's North Shore, and to prop-
erties within one mile of the shoreline in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten
Island, and the South Shore of Long Island."2

This bill would expand the geographical coverage of CMAP to properties
located within one mile from the shoreline in all covered areas, and
would broaden the definition of "shore" to include Lake Erie, Lake
Ontario, the Saint Lawrence River and the Niagara River. The bill also
empowers NYPIUA to adopt additional or more expansive eligibility stand-
ards

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The provisions of the bill shall take effect immediately after the bill
becomes law.
1 NYS Department of Financial Services, Problems Obtaining Insurance,
available at
https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/help for homeowners/insurance/problems
obtai ping insurance; NYPIUA Product Information, available at
https://www.nypiva.com/insurance/product-information
2 Id.