Provides for the establishment of residential home safety and loss prevention courses certified by the superintendent of financial services; requires insurers to provide actuarially appropriate discounts on fire and homeowners insurance premiums to those homeowners who have completed a residential home safety and loss prevention course; directs the superintendent of financial services to promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement such program and specifies certain matters which must be included in such rules and regulations; requires the superintendent of financial services to issue a report thereon.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1475A
SPONSOR: Colton (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to
establishing residential home safety and loss prevention courses and
providing for an associated reduction in certain insurance premiums and
providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To permit the superintendent of
insurance to provide an actuarially appropriate reduction in insurance
premiums to those individuals that take a certified Home Safety and Loss
Prevention Course.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS; Section 1: Amends section 2346 of the
Insurance Law by adding subsection (5) to provide that an appropriate
premium discount be given by insurers to fire and homeowner's insurance
policy holders for a three year period after successfully completing a
course in home safety and accident prevention. The discount shall be
based on sound actuarial practices. Such courses shall be certified by
the Insurance Department pursuant to Insurance Law, section 2346-1).
Section 2: A new section 2346-b of the Insurance Law is added to estab-
lish standards that residential home safety and loss prevention courses
must satisfy to be certified. Only certified courses may conduct classes
that will enable students to receive the premium discount. The Insurance
Department shall consult with the Office of Fire Prevention and Control
of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services before
certifying such courses.
Section 3: Not less than 180 days before the expiration of this section
the superintendent of insurance shall issue a report to the Governor,
temporary president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, and the
chairs of the committees on insurance of both the senate and assembly,
stating his or her findings on the effect of this course.
Section 4: This act shall take effect on the 1801h day and shall expire
in 5 years.
JUSTIFICATION: Currently, when policy holders take a home safety and
accident prevention course there is no discount at all for the holder
concerning their homeowners or fire insurance policy. This legislation
will allow for an actuarially appropriate reduction to be awarded to the
policy holder. This legislation will encourage policy holders to take a
course on home safety and loss prevention, thus reducing property and
personal injury loss and consequently reducing the cost of claims paid
by insurance companies. This in turn will permit insurers to lower rates
for those who take these classes.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2011-12: A.1237-A/Insurance; S.4403-A/Insurance
2009-10: A.9094/Insurance; S.2376/Insurance
2007-08: A.152/Passed Assembly; S.4342/Insurance
2005-06: A.180/Insurance/Passed Assembly; S.7896/Insurance
2003-04: A.54/Passed Assembly
2001-02: A.1519/Passed Assembly
2000: A.10031-.A./Passed Assembly; S.7526/Insurance
1999: A.1247-B; S.00034 (Passed both houses Veto No.18)
1998: A.9127-A/Passed Assembly; S.6266/Insurance
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect 180 days after it shall
have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed three years
after such date; provided however, any rules or regulations necessary
for the timely implementation of the provisions of this act shall be
promulgated on or before such date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1475--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. COLTON, PALMESANO, BARRON, MILLMAN, ROSENTHAL,
ROBERTS, GUNTHER, COOK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BOYLAND,
BRENNAN, FARRELL, SALADINO, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Insurance -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to establishing residen-
tial home safety and loss prevention courses and providing for an
associated reduction in certain insurance premiums and providing for
the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 2346 of the insurance law is amended by adding a
2 new subsection 5 to read as follows:
3 5. The superintendent shall provide for an actuarially appropriate
4 reduction in the rates of fire insurance premiums or homeowners insur-
5 ance premiums applicable to residential real property for any insured
6 for a three year period after successfully completing a residential home
7 safety and loss prevention course certified pursuant to section two
8 thousand three hundred forty-six-b of this article.
9 § 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 2346-b to
10 read as follows:
11 § 2346-b. Certification of residential home safety and loss prevention
12 courses. (a) The department, in consultation with the office of fire
13 prevention and control of the division of homeland security and emergen-
14 cy services and any additional state entity it deems appropriate, shall
15 certify all residential home safety and loss prevention courses that are
16 authorized to offer classes through which the insured shall be eligible
17 to receive an insurance premium reduction pursuant to subsection five of
18 section two thousand three hundred forty-six of this article.
19 (b) For the purposes of this section:
20 (1) "residential home safety and loss prevention course" or "course"
21 shall mean an instructional program that presents information and meth-
22 ods that can help an insured to significantly prevent or minimize
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04166-02-3
A. 1475--A 2
1 personal injuries and property losses in residential real property due
2 to the occurrence of fire, theft, burglary, accidents and weather
3 related events, including, but not limited to, how to mitigate property
4 damage from hurricanes, ice storms, tornadoes and other natural disas-
5 ters; and
6 (2) "course sponsor" shall mean any individual, company or organiza-
7 tion that has developed or owns a residential home safety and loss
8 prevention course and all agents of such sponsor including independent
9 contractors that conduct classes for such sponsor and class instructors.
10 (c) The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are
11 necessary to implement the provisions of this section. Such rules shall,
12 at a minimum, provide for:
13 (1) course sponsor application procedures that an applicant shall
14 follow to obtain course certification approval;
15 (2) curriculum standards that the course sponsors and instructors
16 shall utilize, based upon submissions from any course sponsor as defined
17 in paragraph two of subsection (b) of this section, including teaching
18 methods and time requirements which shall be in excess of three hours;
19 (3) standards, based upon submissions from any course sponsor as
20 defined in paragraph two of subsection (b) of this section, that course
21 sponsors shall satisfy to ensure that class instructors are adequately
22 trained;
23 (4) a demonstration by the course sponsor that successfully completing
24 such course will significantly reduce fire, theft, liability and weather
25 related losses in the residence;
26 (5) standards, based upon submissions from any course sponsor as
27 defined in paragraph two of subsection (b) of this section, to ensure
28 that individuals that complete such course shall receive certificates
29 that can be submitted to an insurer to demonstrate successful completion
30 of the class. Such certificates of completion shall be tamper proof and
31 designed so that they can not be fraudulently reproduced or forged by an
32 unauthorized issuer; and
33 (6) procedures for on-going surveillance of course presentation and
34 administration to ensure that the insurance premium reduction awarded
35 is, and continues to be, proportionally related to the actuarially
36 calculable decrease in losses attributable to the course.
37 (d) The department is authorized to suspend or revoke the certificate
38 of approval of any course sponsor if the department determines that such
39 sponsor has violated the provisions of this section or has misrepre-
40 sented information on the initial application or in periodic reports
41 submitted to the department.
42 (e) The department may increase or decrease the insurance premium
43 discount awarded to such course if it is found that such discount is not
44 actuarially appropriate.
45 § 3. Not less than 180 days before the expiration of the provision of
46 this act, the superintendent of financial services shall issue a report
47 to the governor, temporary president of the senate, speaker of the
48 assembly, and the chairs of the committees on insurance of the senate
49 and assembly stating his or her findings on the effect of residential
50 home safety and loss prevention courses in reducing homeowners insurance
51 claims.
52 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
53 it shall have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed 5
54 years after such effective date; provided, however, any rules or regu-
55 lations necessary for the timely implementation of the provisions of
56 this act shall be promulgated on or before such date.
