STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7856
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to components of instruc-
tion for accident prevention courses
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subsection (a) of section 2336 of the insur-
2 ance law, as amended by section 3 of chapter 4 of the laws of 2021, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (1) Any schedule of rates or rating plan for motor vehicle liability
5 and collision insurance submitted to the superintendent shall provide
6 for an actuarially appropriate reduction in premium charges for any
7 insured for a three year period after successfully completing a motor
8 vehicle accident prevention course, known as the national safety coun-
9 cil's defensive driving course, or any driver improvement course
10 approved by the department of motor vehicles as being equivalent to the
11 national safety council's defensive driving course, provided that,
12 except as provided in article twelve-C of the vehicle and traffic law,
13 there shall be no reduction in premiums for a self-instruction defensive
14 driving course or a course that does not provide for actual classroom
15 instruction for a minimum number of hours as determined by the depart-
16 ment of motor vehicles. Such reduction in premium charges shall be
17 subsequently modified to the extent appropriate, based upon analysis of
18 loss experience statistics and other relevant factors. All such accident
19 prevention courses shall be monitored by the department of motor vehi-
20 cles and shall include components of instruction in "Portable Electronic
21 Device" awareness, "Cannabis Use" awareness, "Road Rage" awareness and
22 [in] "Work Zone Safety" awareness as defined by the commissioner of
23 motor vehicles. The provisions of this section shall not apply to
24 attendance at a program pursuant to article twenty-one of the vehicle
25 and traffic law as a result of any traffic infraction.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11986-01-5
S. 7856 2
1 § 2. Paragraph 1 of subsection (a) of section 2336 of the insurance
2 law, as amended by section 4 of chapter 4 of the laws of 2021, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (1) Any schedule of rates or rating plan for motor vehicle liability
5 and collision insurance submitted to the superintendent shall provide
6 for an actuarially appropriate reduction in premium charges for any
7 insured for a three year period after successfully completing a motor
8 vehicle accident prevention course, known as the national safety coun-
9 cil's defensive driving course, or any driver improvement course
10 approved by the department of motor vehicles as being equivalent to the
11 national safety council's defensive driving course, provided that in
12 either event there shall be no reduction in premiums for a self-instruc-
13 tion defensive driving course or a course that does not provide for
14 actual classroom instruction for a minimum number of hours as determined
15 by the department of motor vehicles. Such reduction in premium charges
16 shall be subsequently modified to the extent appropriate, based upon
17 analysis of loss experience statistics and other relevant factors. All
18 such accident prevention courses shall be monitored by the department of
19 motor vehicles and shall include components of instruction in "Portable
20 Electronic Device" awareness, "Cannabis Use" awareness, "Road Rage"
21 awareness and [in] "Work Zone Safety" awareness as defined by the
22 commissioner of motor vehicles. The provisions of this section shall not
23 apply to attendance at a program pursuant to article twenty-one of the
24 vehicle and traffic law as a result of any traffic infraction.
25 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
26 the amendments to paragraph 1 of subsection (a) of section 2336 of the
27 insurance law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the
28 expiration and reversion of such subsection pursuant to section 5 of
29 chapter 751 of the laws of 2005, as amended, when upon such date the
30 provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.
