STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2624
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 19, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the insurance law, in
relation to increasing the minimum insurance coverage requirements for
automobiles registered and/or operated within the state of New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 and subdivision 7 of section
2 311 of the vehicle and traffic law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 as
3 amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995 and subdivision 7 as amended
4 by chapter 805 of the laws of 1984, are amended to read as follows:
5 (a) Affording coverage as defined in the minimum provisions prescribed
6 in a regulation which shall be promulgated by the superintendent at
7 least ninety days prior to effective date of this act. The superinten-
8 dent before promulgating such regulations or any amendment thereof,
9 shall consult with all insurers licensed to write automobile liability
10 insurance in this state and shall not prescribe minimum provisions which
11 fail to reflect the provisions of automobile liability insurance poli-
12 cies, other than motor vehicle liability policies as defined in section
13 three hundred forty-five of this chapter, issued within this state at
14 the date of such regulation or amendment thereof. Nothing contained in
15 such regulation or in this article shall prohibit any insurer from
16 affording coverage under an owner's policy of liability insurance more
17 liberal than that required by said minimum provisions. Every such
18 owner's policy of liability insurance shall provide insurance subject to
19 said regulation against loss from the liability imposed by law for
20 damages, including damages for care and loss of services, because of
21 bodily injury to or death of any person and injury to or destruction of
22 property arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use, or operation of
23 a specific motor vehicle or motor vehicles within the state of New York,
24 or elsewhere in the United States in North America or the Dominion of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04212-01-1
A. 2624 2
1 Canada, subject to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, with
2 respect to each such motor vehicle except a tow truck, of [twenty-five]
3 two hundred fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injuries to and
4 [fifty] five hundred thousand dollars because of death of one person in
5 any one accident and, subject to said limit for one person, to a limit
6 of [fifty] five hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury to and
7 one [hundred thousand] million dollars because of death of two or more
8 persons in any one accident, and to a limit of [ten] twenty-five thou-
9 sand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others
10 in any one accident provided, however, that such policy need not be for
11 a period coterminous with the registration period of the vehicle
12 insured. The limit, exclusive of interest and costs, with respect to a
13 tow truck shall be a combined single limit of at least three hundred
14 thousand dollars because of bodily injury or death to one or more
15 persons or because of injury or destruction of property of others in any
16 one accident, and to a limit of twenty-five thousand dollars because of
17 damage to a vehicle in the care, custody and control of the insured. Any
18 insurer authorized to issue an owner's policy of liability insurance as
19 provided for in this article may, pending the issue of such a policy,
20 make an agreement, to be known as a binder, or may, in lieu of such a
21 policy, issue a renewal endorsement or evidence of renewal of an exist-
22 ing policy; each of which shall be construed to provide indemnity or
23 protection in like manner and to the same extent as such a policy. The
24 provisions of this article shall apply to such binders, renewal endorse-
25 ments or evidences of renewal. Every such policy issued insuring private
26 passenger vehicles and every renewal policy, renewal endorsement, or
27 other evidence of renewal issued shall have attached thereto a rating
28 information form which clearly specifies and defines the rating classi-
29 fication assigned thereto, including any applicable merit rating plan;
30 and
31 7. The term "financial security deposit" shall mean for each motor
32 vehicle the deposit with the commissioner of [twenty-five] two hundred
33 fifty thousand dollars in cash, or securities, such as may legally be
34 purchased by savings banks or trust funds, of a market value of [twen-
35 ty-five] two hundred fifty thousand dollars and an additional deposit in
36 an amount determined by the commissioner to be sufficient to satisfy the
37 requirements of article fifty-one of the insurance law.
38 § 2. Paragraph 3 of subdivision (b) of section 345 of the vehicle and
39 traffic law, as amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995, is amended
40 to read as follows:
41 (3) Shall insure the insured or such other person against loss from
42 the liability imposed by law for damages, including damages for care and
43 loss of services because of bodily injury to or death of any person and
44 injury to or destruction of property arising out of the ownership, main-
45 tenance, use, or operation of such motor vehicle or motor vehicles with-
46 in the state of New York, or elsewhere in the United States in North
47 America or the Dominion of Canada, subject to a limit, exclusive of
48 interest and cost, with respect to each such motor vehicle, except a tow
49 truck, of [twenty-five] two hundred fifty thousand dollars because of
50 bodily injury to or [fifty] five hundred thousand dollars because of
51 death of one person in any one accident and, subject to said limit for
52 one person, to a limit of [fifty] five hundred thousand dollars because
53 of bodily injury to or one [hundred thousand] million dollars because of
54 death of two or more persons in any one accident, and to a limit of
55 [ten] twenty-five thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction
56 of property of others in any one accident. The limit, exclusive of
A. 2624 3
1 interest and costs, with respect to a tow truck shall be a combined
2 single limit of three hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury
3 of death to one or more persons or because of injury or destruction of
4 property of others in any one accident, and to a limit of twenty-five
5 thousand dollars because of damage to a vehicle in the care, custody and
6 control of the insured.
7 § 3. Paragraph 1 of subsection (f) of section 3420 of the insurance
8 law, as amended by section 19 of part III of chapter 59 of the laws of
9 2019, is amended to read as follows:
10 (1) No policy insuring against loss resulting from liability imposed
11 by law for bodily injury or death suffered by any natural person arising
12 out of the ownership, maintenance and use of a motor vehicle or an
13 altered motor vehicle commonly referred to as a "stretch limousine"
14 having a seating capacity of eight or more passengers used in the busi-
15 ness of carrying or transporting passengers for hire, by the insured
16 shall be issued or delivered by any authorized insurer upon any motor
17 vehicle or an altered motor vehicle commonly referred to as a "stretch
18 limousine" having a seating capacity of eight or more passengers used in
19 the business of carrying or transporting passengers for hire, then prin-
20 cipally garaged or principally used in this state unless it contains a
21 provision whereby the insurer agrees that it will pay to the insured, as
22 defined in such provision, subject to the terms and conditions set forth
23 therein to be prescribed by the board of directors of the Motor Vehicle
24 Accident Indemnification Corporation and approved by the superintendent,
25 all sums, not exceeding a maximum amount or limit of [twenty-five] two
26 hundred fifty thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs, on
27 account of injury to and all sums, not exceeding a maximum amount or
28 limit of [fifty] five hundred thousand dollars exclusive of interest and
29 costs, on account of death of one person, in any one accident, and the
30 maximum amount or limit, subject to such limit for any one person so
31 injured of fifty thousand dollars or so killed of one [hundred thousand]
32 million dollars, exclusive of interest and costs, on account of injury
33 to, or death of, more than one person in any one accident, which the
34 insured or his legal representative shall be entitled to recover as
35 damages from an owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle, uniden-
36 tified motor vehicle which leaves the scene of an accident, a motor
37 vehicle registered in this state as to which at the time of the accident
38 there was not in effect a policy of liability insurance, a stolen vehi-
39 cle, a motor vehicle operated without permission of the owner, an
40 insured motor vehicle where the insurer disclaims liability or denies
41 coverage or an unregistered vehicle because of bodily injury, sickness
42 or disease, including death resulting therefrom, sustained by the
43 insured, caused by accident occurring in this state and arising out of
44 the ownership, maintenance or use of such motor vehicle. No payment for
45 non-economic loss shall be made under such policy provision to a covered
46 person unless such person has incurred a serious injury, as such terms
47 are defined in section five thousand one hundred two of this chapter.
48 Such policy shall not duplicate any element of basic economic loss
49 provided for under article fifty-one of this chapter. No payments of
50 first party benefits for basic economic loss made pursuant to such arti-
51 cle shall diminish the obligations of the insurer under this policy
52 provision for the payment of non-economic loss and economic loss in
53 excess of basic economic loss. Notwithstanding any inconsistent
54 provisions of section three thousand four hundred twenty-five of this
55 article, any such policy which does not contain the aforesaid provisions
56 shall be construed as if such provisions were embodied therein.
A. 2624 4
1 § 4. Subsection (a) of section 5210 of the insurance law, as amended
2 by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
3 (a) When any qualified person who has complied with all the applicable
4 requirements of this article recovers a final judgment in a court
5 against a financially irresponsible motorist, for injury to, or death
6 of, any person arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the
7 uninsured motor vehicle in this state, which remains unpaid, and all
8 appeals have been concluded or the time for commencing them has expired,
9 the judgment creditor may file a verified petition in the court in which
10 the judgment was entered and, upon ten days' written notice to the
11 corporation apply to the court for an order directing payment by the
12 corporation of the amount unpaid on the judgment. However, there shall
13 be no right of recovery by a covered person from the corporation for
14 non-economic loss unless such person has incurred a serious injury, as
15 such terms are defined in section five thousand one hundred two of this
16 chapter. Such judgment exclusive of interest and costs shall not
17 exceed:
18 (1) [twenty-five] two hundred fifty thousand dollars on account of
19 injury to one person in any one accident, and
20 (2) [fifty] five hundred thousand dollars on account of death to one
21 person in any one accident, and
22 (3) [fifty] five hundred thousand dollars on account of injury to more
23 than one person in any one accident subject to the limit of twenty-five
24 thousand dollars for any one person, and
25 (4) one [hundred thousand] million dollars on account of death to more
26 than one person in any one accident subject to the limit of fifty thou-
27 sand dollars for any one person.
28 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
29 is shall have become a law.
