NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7456A
SPONSOR: Brook-Krasny
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to
property/casualty insurer report cards
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
This bill would require the Superintendent of Financial Services to
prepare a report card containing information on how insurers licensed to
write personal lines insurance or certain commercial lines insurance
policies respond to an emergency or disaster. The Superintendent would
be required to post the report card on the Department's website and make
it available in writing no later than twenty days following the declara-
tion of a disaster or emergency. The Superintendent would also have to
update the report card every seven days for at least six months or until
the Superintendent determines that the report card is no longer neces-
sary.
The report card would contain information on how each insurer responded
to the disaster or emergency, including the number of claims the insurer
received and the status of those claims; the number of independent
adjusters the insurer has working in the field; the number of policy-
holders who have hired public adjusters; the average amount of time, in
days, for the insurer to investigate a claim, make a payment, and close
a claim; the number of complaints the insurer has received from its
insureds; the number of complaints the Department has received on each
insurer; and any other information the Superintendent deems necessary.
The Superintendent would also have the discretion to waive the require-
ments of this bill if the disaster or emergency does not result in a
significant amount of insurance related claims and if the Superintendent
does not believe the best interests of the public will be served by
issuing a report card.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
After a disaster such as Superstorm Sandy, families and businesses often
rely on the insurance industry in the recovery process. Prompt assess-
ments of damages and processing of claims are key to providing individ-
uals and families a safe place to live and to providing businesses with
the resources they need to continue operating and serving the public.
Following Sandy, many issues that homeowners and businesses had with
their insurance companies came to light, including delays in the settle-
ment of insurance claims and the adequacy of settlement offers. This
bill would address these issues by requiring the Superintendent of
Financial Services to prepare and update a publicly available report
card or how well each insurance company responds to a specific disaster.
This transparency will allow members of the legislature, the public, and
the insurance industry itself to evaluate how insurance companies
respond to a disaster and to make improvements where necessary.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7456--A
Cal. No. 511
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 17, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BROOK-KRASNY -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Insurance -- reported and referred to the Committee on
Ways and Means -- advanced to a third reading, amended and ordered
reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to property/casualty
insurer report cards
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 339 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 339. Property/casualty insurer report cards. (a) If at any time a
4 local state of emergency is declared pursuant to section twenty-four of
5 the executive law, the governor declares a disaster emergency pursuant
6 to section twenty-eight of the executive law, or the President issues a
7 major disaster or emergency declaration pursuant to the Robert T. Staf-
8 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 93-288), the
9 superintendent shall prepare a report card containing information on how
10 each insurer licensed to write personal lines insurance or commercial
11 lines insurance policies that cover loss of or damage to real property,
12 personal property, or other liabilities for loss or damage to property
13 responded to the emergency or disaster.
14 (b) No later than twenty days following the declaration of the disas-
15 ter or emergency, the superintendent shall post the report card on the
16 department's website. The report card shall also be available in writing
17 upon request.
18 (c) The superintendent shall update the report card every seven days
19 for at least six months following the declaration of the disaster or
20 emergency, or until the superintendent determines that such report card
21 is no longer necessary. Such report card shall be in the aggregate. The
22 updated version shall be posted on the department's website and shall be
23 made available in writing upon request.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11124-03-3
A. 7456--A 2
1 (d) Insurers specified in subsection (a) of this section shall provide
2 the superintendent with all information necessary for the superintendent
3 to prepare the report card, in a manner and on a date prescribed by the
4 superintendent.
5 (e) The report card shall indicate whether the information is for
6 personal lines insurance policies or commercial lines insurance poli-
7 cies. If the insurer writes both personal lines insurance policies and
8 commercial lines insurance policies, the report card shall differentiate
9 between the two.
10 (f) The report card shall contain the following information on how
11 each individual insurer specified in subsection (a) of this section
12 responded to the disaster or emergency:
13 (i) The number of claims the insurer has received;
14 (ii) The number of claims closed with payment;
15 (iii) The number of claims closed without payment;
16 (iv) The total number of open claims and the average amount of time,
17 in days, the claims have been open;
18 (v) The number of open claims for which a partial payment has been
19 made;
20 (vi) The number of open claims for which a payment has been offered
21 that are being disputed and/or negotiated by the policyholder;
22 (vii) The number of open claims that are still being investigated by
23 the insurer, the status of the investigation and the reason the investi-
24 gation is not complete, compiled into categories determined by the
25 superintendent;
26 (viii) The number of independent adjusters that the insurer has work-
27 ing in the field;
28 (ix) The number of policyholders who have hired public adjusters;
29 (x) The average time, in days: (A) from the date a claim is filed
30 until the date on which the inspection is initiated; (B) from the date
31 on which the inspection is initiated until the date the insurer provides
32 the insured with an estimate; (C) from the date the insurer provides the
33 insured with an estimate until the date a payment is made; (D) from the
34 date a payment is made until the claim is closed; and (E) from the date
35 a claim is filed until the date the claim is closed;
36 (xi) The number of complaints that the insurer has received from
37 insureds and the percentage of the insurer's claims for the disaster or
38 emergency that these complaints represent;
39 (xii) The number of complaints that the department has received
40 regarding the insurer and the percentage of the insurer's claims for the
41 disaster or emergency that these complaints represent; and
42 (xiii) Any other information that the superintendent deems necessary.
43 (g) The superintendent may, at his or her discretion, waive the
44 requirement to prepare a report card if the declared disaster, as
45 defined in subsection (a) of this section, does not result in a signif-
46 icant amount of insurance related claims filed in New York state and the
47 superintendent does not believe the best interest of the public will be
48 served by issuing a report card.
49 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.