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A07910 Summary:

BILL NOA07910A
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORWeprin
 
COSPNSRReyes, Gallagher, Levenberg, Lee, Shimsky, Gunther, Dickens, Gonzalez-Rojas, Burdick, Hevesi, Lucas, Seawright, Aubry, Cruz, Lunsford, Glick, Ardila, Simone, Wallace, Septimo, Bores
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add 3462, Ins L
 
Prohibits insurance discrimination because of the affordability of residential buildings.
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A07910 Actions:

BILL NOA07910A
 
08/04/2023referred to insurance
01/03/2024referred to insurance
03/13/2024amend (t) and recommit to insurance
03/13/2024print number 7910a
03/20/2024reported
03/21/2024advanced to third reading cal.375
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A07910 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7910A
 
SPONSOR: Weprin
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to prohibiting discrimi- nation because of the affordability of residential buildings   PURPOSE OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to ensure that affordable housing develop- ments are not subject to discrimination when purchasing insurance.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: This bill would prohibit an insurer of residential property from inquir- ing about on an application, cancelling, refusing to issue or renew or increasing the premium of a policy, or excluding, limiting, restricting, or reducing coverage under a policy based on the level or source of income of the tenants or the real property owner; whether the building contains units that must be affordable to residents at a specific income level pursuant to a statue, regulation, regulatory agreement or restric- tive declaration with a local, state, or federal government entity; whether the property owner or tenants receive rental assistance provided by a local, state, or federal government entity, wherein the tenant's portion of the rent is limited to a percentage of their income; or on whether the building is owned by a limited-equity cooperative, a public housing authority or by a cooperative housing corporation.   JUSTIFICATION: In 2021, the Legislature and the Governor enacted a statute (Chapter 790, S5231/A5574 Kavanagh/Cymbrowitz), which directed the Department of Finance Services (DFS) and Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) to conduct a study to examine the increasing costs of insurance premiums and decreasing availability of insurance coverage for affordable housing developments. The study, published in November 2022, collected stake- holder feedback from affordable housing developers; analyzed the insur- ance costs and coverage of affordable housing projects within HCR's portfolio; and examined factors that may contribute to the underwriting, rating, and price-setting of premiums of fire and casualty insurance plans. The report states that although the "Insurance Law does not explicitly prohibit consideration of whether a property is comprised of, in part, affordable, subsidized, or Section 8 units when making under- writing or rating determinations," "insurer inquiries about affordable housing raise legitimate concerns from stakeholders about the potential for unfairly discriminatory results." In the study, affordable housing owners indicated that insurance compa- nies and producers often ask whether buildings contain affordable, subsidized, or Section 8 units, and what proportion of the buildings are such units. Presumably insurers intend to use responses to these inquiries to make decisions about which properties to insure and at what price. According to the study, affordable housing owners indicated that the "reasons that the insurers would not write the risks included an inability to consider NYC Habitational and/or Affordable Housing risks at this time,' to a lack of appetite for affordable housing developments in New York City, to only being willing to consider housing with 'no more than 20%' section 8 housing." New York Insurance Law allows insurers to consider underwriting and rating factors that are reasonably related to actual or anticipated. losses to ensure that rates are adequate and that policyholder claims will be paid. While the Insurance Law explicitly prohibits the use of certain factors in underwriting or rating, such as race, color, creed, national origin, disability, and status, it does not explicitly prohibit consideration of whether a property is comprised of, in part, afforda- ble, subsidized, or Section 8 units when making underwriting or rating determinations. However, these insurer inquiries about affordable hous- ing raise legitimate concerns from stakeholders about the potential for unfairly discriminatory results. This legislation addresses these concerns by prohibiting discrimination against affordable, subsidized, or Section 8 housing in underwriting or insurance policies.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A07910 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7910--A
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     August 4, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. WEPRIN, REYES, GALLAGHER, LEVENBERG, LEE, SHIM-
          SKY,  GUNTHER,  DICKENS,  GONZALEZ-ROJAS,  BURDICK,   HEVESI,   LUCAS,
          SEAWRIGHT,  AUBRY,  CRUZ,  LUNSFORD,  GLICK,  ARDILA, SIMONE, WALLACE,
          SEPTIMO -- read once and referred to the  Committee  on  Insurance  --
          recommitted  to the Committee on Insurance 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 prohibiting discrimi-
          nation because of the affordability of residential buildings
 
          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 3462
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 3462. Affordable housing underwriting and rating.   (a)  An  insurer
     4  that  issues  or  delivers  in this state a policy of insurance covering
     5  loss of or damage to real  property  containing  units  for  residential
     6  purposes shall not inquire about on an application, nor shall an insurer
     7  cancel,  refuse  to  issue, refuse to renew or increase the premium of a
     8  policy, or exclude, limit, restrict, or reduce coverage under  a  policy
     9  based on, the following:
    10    (1)  The  residential  building  contains dwelling units that shall be
    11  affordable to residents at a specific income level pursuant to a statue,
    12  regulation, regulatory  agreement  or  restrictive  declaration  with  a
    13  local, state, or federal government entity;
    14    (2)  The  real  property owner or tenants of such residential building
    15  receive rental assistance provided by a local, state, or federal govern-
    16  ment entity wherein the tenant's portion of the rent  is  limited  to  a
    17  percentage of such tenant's income;
    18    (3)  The  level  or source of income of the real property owner or the
    19  tenants of the residential building; or
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10702-06-4

        A. 7910--A                          2
 
     1    (4) Whether such residential building is  owned  by  a  limited-equity
     2  cooperative;  owned by a public housing authority; or owned by a cooper-
     3  ative housing corporation subject to  the  provisions  of  article  two,
     4  article  four,  article  five  or  article eleven of the private housing
     5  finance law.
     6    (b)  Nothing in this section shall prohibit an insurer from canceling,
     7  refusing  to  issue, refusing to renew,  increasing  the  premium of  an
     8  insurance policy or excluding, limiting, restricting, or reducing cover-
     9  age  under  such  policy  due to other factors that are permitted by any
    10  other section of this chapter.
    11    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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