Relates to claims for loss or damage to real property; creates continuing education requirements for licensed persons and qualifications for public and independent adjusters; allows for a revocation of licenses with an opportunity to reapply for such licenses.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3729--A
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 26, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN, WEISENBERG, ORTIZ -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. COOK, McENENY, NOLAN, PERRY -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Insurance -- recommitted to the Committee on Insur-
ance in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to claims for loss or
damage to real property, continuing education for licensed persons and
qualifications for independent adjusters
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 2616
2 to read as follows:
3 § 2616. Claims for loss or damage to real property; repairs. (a) When-
4 ever an insured suffers a loss or damage to real property, no insurer
5 providing coverage therefor shall require that repairs be completed by a
6 particular entity or individual.
7 (b) In processing any such claim, the insurer shall not recommend or
8 suggest repairs be made by a particular entity or individual unless
9 expressly requested by the insured, in which case the insurer shall
10 disclose to the insured whether the insurer has a controlling or busi-
11 ness interest in any entity or individual that the insurer recommends or
12 suggests.
13 § 2. Subsection (a) of section 2108 of the insurance law is amended by
14 adding two new paragraphs 5 and 6 to read as follows:
15 (5) No public or independent adjuster shall receive any compensation
16 or receive anything of value in consideration of a direct referral of a
17 client or potential client.
18 (6) An independent or public adjuster shall not recommend or suggest
19 repairs be made by a particular entity or individual unless expressly
20 requested by the insured, in which case the independent or public adjus-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05092-04-2
A. 3729--A 2
1 ter shall disclose to the insured whether the adjuster has any control-
2 ling or business interest in any entity or individual that the adjuster
3 recommends or suggests.
4 § 3. Paragraph 1 of subsection (f) of section 2108 of the insurance
5 law is amended to read as follows:
6 (1) The superintendent shall, in order to determine the trustworthi-
7 ness and competency to act as an independent adjuster of each individual
8 applicant for such license, and of each proposed sub-licensee, except in
9 the case of a renewal license, require every such individual to take and
10 pass, to the satisfaction of the superintendent, a personal written
11 examination. An individual shall not be deemed qualified to take the
12 examination without having demonstrated by evidence satisfactory to the
13 superintendent that: (A) the individual possesses a minimum of one-
14 year's experience in the insurance business, with involvement in sales,
15 underwriting, claims, or other experience considered sufficient by the
16 superintendent; or (B) the individual successfully completed forty hours
17 of formal training in a course, program of instruction, or seminars
18 approved by the superintendent. The superintendent may prescribe the
19 types of written examinations according to the kind or kinds of insur-
20 ance claims [which] that the applicant is to be licensed to investigate
21 and adjust.
22 § 4. Subsection (r) of section 2108 of the insurance law, as added by
23 chapter 264 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
24 (r) (1) The following continuing education requirements shall apply to
25 resident and non-resident persons licensed as public or independent
26 adjusters.
27 (2) Resident and non-resident persons licensed as public or independ-
28 ent adjusters and any person previously so licensed whose license was
29 not in effect on the effective date of this subsection and who has
30 subsequently been relicensed pursuant to the provisions of this article,
31 shall biennially satisfactorily complete such courses or programs as may
32 be approved by the superintendent, as follows:
33 (A) Any person holding a license as a public or independent adjuster
34 shall, during each full biennial licensing period, satisfactorily
35 complete courses or programs of instruction or attend seminars as may be
36 approved by the superintendent equivalent to fifteen credit hours of
37 instruction.
38 (B) During the same calendar year biennial licensing period, a licen-
39 see may use accumulated continuing education credits to meet the
40 requirements of similar classes of licenses including those authorized
41 by subsection (b) of section two thousand one hundred three, section two
42 thousand one hundred four, section two thousand one hundred seven of
43 this article with respect to general insurance consultants, and this
44 section [two thousand one hundred eight of this article] with respect to
45 public and independent adjusters.
46 (C) Excess credit hours accumulated during any biennial licensing
47 period shall not carry forward to the next biennial licensing period for
48 that same class of license.
49 (3) (A) The courses or programs of instruction successfully completed,
50 which shall be deemed to meet the superintendent's standards for contin-
51 uing education shall be:
52 (i) Courses, programs of instruction or seminars, approved as to meth-
53 od and content by the superintendent, covering portions of the principal
54 branches of insurance related to the kinds of insurance covered by the
55 public or independent adjusting license, and given by a degree confer-
56 ring college or university whose curriculum is registered with the state
A. 3729--A 3
1 education department at the time the person takes the course, whether
2 such course be given as part of such curriculum or separately, or by any
3 other institution, association, trade association or insurer, which
4 maintains equivalent standards of instruction and which shall have been
5 approved for such purpose by the superintendent.
6 (ii) Continuing education as required by the state in which a non-re-
7 sident licensee resides and maintains an office, provided the super-
8 intendent deems them equivalent to New York continuing education
9 requirements. If the state in which the non-resident licensee resides
10 and maintains an office has no continuing education requirements, or the
11 superintendent does not deem them equivalent, the licensee must satisfy
12 New York continuing education requirements.
13 (B) The number of credit hours assigned to each of the courses or
14 programs of instruction set forth in paragraph one of this subsection
15 shall be determined by the superintendent.
16 (4) A person who teaches any approved course of instruction or who
17 lectures at any approved seminar, and who is subject to these continuing
18 education requirements shall be granted the same number of credit hours
19 as would be granted to a person taking and successfully completing such
20 course, seminar or program, provided that such credit hours shall be
21 credited only once per approved course during any biennial licensing
22 period.
23 (5) Every person subject to these continuing education requirements
24 shall furnish, in a form satisfactory to the superintendent, written
25 certification attesting to the course or programs of instruction taken
26 and successfully completed by such person, and executed by the sponsor-
27 ing organization or its authorizing representative.
28 (6) (A) Any person failing to meet applicable continuing education
29 requirements shall not be eligible to renew the license.
30 (B) Any person whose license was not renewed shall not be eligible to
31 become relicensed during the next biennial licensing period until that
32 person has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the superintendent that
33 continuing education requirements for the last biennial licensing period
34 were met.
35 (C) Any person whose license was not renewed pursuant to subparagraph
36 (A) of this paragraph, who accumulates sufficient credit hours for the
37 prior licensing period to qualify for relicensing in the biennial period
38 following such non-renewal, may not apply those same credit hours toward
39 the continuing education requirements for the current biennial licensing
40 period.
41 (7) (A) Any entity eligible to provide continuing education courses,
42 programs of instruction, or seminars shall file for approval by the
43 superintendent on a biennial basis, to conform with its areas of
44 instruction, a provider organization application and a course submission
45 application for each course, program, and seminar.
46 (B) The provider organization application shall include the names of
47 all instructors to be used during the contract period, and instructors
48 may be added during the period by notifying the superintendent and
49 paying the appropriate filing fee.
50 (C) The completed applications shall be returned in a timely manner,
51 as specified by the superintendent with a non-refundable filing fee of
52 two hundred dollars per organization, fifty dollars per course, program,
53 and seminar, and fifty dollars per instructor.
54 (D) Approval of the application shall be at the discretion of the
55 superintendent.
A. 3729--A 4
1 (8) Each licensee shall pay a biennial fee of ten dollars per license,
2 for continuing education certificate filing and recording charges, to
3 the superintendent, or, at the direction of the superintendent, directly
4 to an organization under contract to provide continuing education admin-
5 istrative services.
6 § 5. The opening paragraph of subsection (a) of section 2110 of the
7 insurance law, as amended by chapter 499 of the laws of 2009, is amended
8 to read as follows:
9 The superintendent may refuse to renew, revoke, or may suspend for a
10 period the superintendent determines the license of any insurance
11 producer, insurance consultant, public or independent adjuster or life
12 settlement broker, if, after notice and hearing, the superintendent
13 determines that the licensee or any sub-licensee has:
14 § 6. Paragraph 2 of subsection (c) of section 2132 of the insurance
15 law, as amended by chapter 264 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read
16 as follows:
17 (2) During the same calendar year biennial licensing period, a licen-
18 see may use accumulated continuing education credits to meet the
19 requirements of similar classes of licenses, as follows: (A) subsection
20 (a) of section two thousand one hundred three and section two thousand
21 one hundred seven of this article with respect to life insurance
22 consultants; or (B) subsection (b) of section two thousand one hundred
23 three, section two thousand one hundred four, section two thousand one
24 hundred seven of this article with respect to general insurance consult-
25 ants, and section two thousand one hundred eight of this article with
26 respect to public and independent adjusters.
27 § 7. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
28 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
