A03729 Summary:
BILL NO | A03729A |
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SAME AS | SAME AS S07802 |
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SPONSOR | Weprin (MS) |
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COSPNSR | Weisenberg, Ortiz, Brook-Krasny |
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MLTSPNSR | Cook, McEneny, Nolan, Perry |
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Add S2616, amd SS2108, 2110 & 2132, Ins L | |
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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. |
A03729 Text:
Go to top 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. LBD05092-04-2A. 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 stateA. 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.