Zebrowski, Dinowitz, Peoples-Stokes, Cymbrowitz, Thiele, Rodriguez, Seawright, Taylor
MLTSPNSR
Braunstein, Galef, Lupardo, Magnarelli
Add 346, Ins L
Requires all motor vehicle insurers to file annual detailed financial and claim data statements with the superintendent of financial services; provides all such statements shall be made available to the public.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2504
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 19, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEINSTEIN, ZEBROWSKI, DINOWITZ, PEOPLES-STOKES,
CYMBROWITZ, THIELE, RODRIGUEZ, SEAWRIGHT, TAYLOR -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, GALEF, LUPARDO, MAGNARELLI -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring all motor
vehicle insurers to file annual financial statements and detailed
claim data with the superintendent of financial services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "automobile
2 insurance sunshine act".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and declares
4 that insurance companies issuing motor vehicle policies in this state
5 owe a duty to the consumers they insure and to those who may in the
6 future be insured by them, to fully disclose in a public and transparent
7 manner all elements relating to their financial condition and solvency.
8 Automobile use and operation is a cornerstone of modern life; in fact,
9 auto insurance is the only coverage most New Yorkers are required by law
10 to purchase. New York's consumers have a right to know the details and
11 specifics of the factors and circumstances behind the financial solvency
12 of their insurer as well as the bases for the rates they are required to
13 pay to retain their legally mandated coverage. The determination of auto
14 insurance premiums in New York has, unfortunately, gone on too long in
15 obscurity, with those who bear the premium rates unable to learn reasons
16 why they are set where they are. As a matter of public trust, automobile
17 liability insurers should make public the pertinent facts related to
18 their premium determinations and financial solvency. It is the sense of
19 the legislature that this data should be disclosed in an open and public
20 manner.
21 § 3. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 346 to read
22 as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00005-01-1
A. 2504 2
1 § 346. Financial statement and detailed claim data to be filed with
2 the department. (a) For purposes of this section, the term "insurer"
3 shall mean any person, corporation, association or other business entity
4 authorized to issue a motor vehicle insurance policy in this state.
5 (b) On or before April first of each year, every insurer shall provide
6 the superintendent with a detailed financial statement to supplement and
7 expand upon the information contained in the statutory annual statement
8 for the most recently concluded calendar year. The financial statement
9 shall contain information on a combined basis for all lines of insurance
10 as well as information separately for each of the following lines of
11 insurance: (1) private passenger automobile other liability, (2) private
12 passenger automobile personal injury protection, (3) private passenger
13 automobile physical damage, (4) commercial automobile other liability,
14 (5) commercial automobile personal injury protection, and (6) commercial
15 automobile physical damage. Such financial statement shall include the
16 entirety of its business activities conducted in this state, or
17 conducted outside this state, but having a nexus to insurance policies
18 or contracts of insurance insuring persons or risks in this state,
19 consistent with the procedures for determining New York state insurance
20 business for statutory annual statement reporting purposes. Such state-
21 ment shall be in a form determined by the superintendent. The form shall
22 be sufficiently itemized in a manner that allows for an actuarially
23 sound analysis of the income realized by the insurer from all sources
24 during such year, including but not limited to premiums, investment
25 income, profit from sale of assets and any other category or categories
26 of income as determined by the superintendent to reflect the full
27 disclosure requirements of this section. At a minimum, such information
28 shall consist of the items set forth in the statement of income, exclud-
29 ing the capital and surplus account section of the property/casualty
30 statutory annual statement, as applicable to the insurer's New York
31 state business, as well as the other information delineated in this
32 subsection. Such financial statement shall also contain a comprehensive
33 and detailed disclosure of the insurer's expenses actually incurred and
34 paid during such calendar year, to include normal business expenses,
35 salaries, commissions, consulting fees, legal expenses, advertising
36 costs and any other category deemed pertinent to the intent of this
37 section. At a minimum, the expense information required shall consist of
38 the items set forth in the underwriting and investment exhibit - part 3
39 - expenses of the property/casualty statutory annual statement, as
40 applicable to the insurer's New York state business. With respect to
41 salaries (including all other forms of compensation), each insurer shall
42 itemize the salary of the twenty most highly compensated employees of
43 such insurer during such year, provided that the name of such employees
44 need not be disclosed. Such financial statement shall also provide the
45 public with a synopsis of claims or settlements paid pursuant to such
46 policies or contracts, listing the total of such claims and settlements
47 by type of insurance or the risk insured. At a minimum, the claim infor-
48 mation required shall consist of the items set forth in the exhibit of
49 premiums and losses of the property/casualty statutory annual statement,
50 as applicable to the insurer's New York state business and identified
51 and categorized separately for each zip code in this state. Such finan-
52 cial statement shall be signed and attested as full, complete and accu-
53 rate by the chief executive officer of the insurer, and he or she shall
54 be held personally responsible with respect to the accuracy of the
55 content of such statement. The superintendent shall provide insurers
56 with a method to submit their financial statements electronically via
A. 2504 3
1 the internet, which method shall include instructions relating to the
2 use of an electronic signature which shall be subject to, and submitted
3 in accordance with section three hundred sixteen of this article;
4 provided, however, that no exception authorized in such section may be
5 requested or granted.
6 (c) On or before April first of each year, every insurer shall provide
7 the superintendent with detailed closed claim information for the same
8 lines of insurance provided for in subsection (b) of this section for
9 the most recently concluded calendar year. Until the superintendent
10 promulgates data collection forms and procedures for private passenger
11 automobile insurance, data shall be collected using, at a minimum, the
12 most recent publicly available forms used by the Insurance Research
13 Council for its Auto Injury Survey. The superintendent may require addi-
14 tional information beyond that which is contained in such survey if he
15 or she deems it necessary and warranted. Instead of collecting informa-
16 tion for all private passenger automobile claims the superintendent may
17 collect data for a statistically valid sample of claims. The minimum
18 sample size shall represent five per centum of the number of claims for
19 each year. Until the superintendent promulgates data collection forms
20 and procedures for commercial automobile insurance, data shall be
21 collected using information which may be available from any other
22 source. For commercial automobile claims, instead of collecting informa-
23 tion for all claims the superintendent may collect data for a statis-
24 tically valid sample of claims. The minimum sample size shall represent
25 ten per centum of the number of claims for each year for such line of
26 insurance. Such detailed claim data shall be signed and attested as
27 full, complete and accurate by the chief executive officer of the insur-
28 er, and he or she shall be held personally responsible with respect to
29 the accuracy of the data. The detailed claim data shall be submitted in
30 the same manner as provided for in subsection (b) of this section.
31 (d) The superintendent shall, in both written form and as part of the
32 department web site, make such financial statements and detailed claim
33 information available to the public. The detailed claim information
34 shall be provided in aggregate form for all insurers combined without
35 any identification of a specific claim to a specific insurer. None of
36 the publicly available detailed claim information shall identify the
37 individual insurer, defendant or plaintiff associated with the claim.
38 Such financial statements and detailed claim information shall be deemed
39 a public document and no person shall be required to file a request for
40 such financial statements pursuant to article six of the public officers
41 law in order to receive a copy thereof, but upon request and payment of
42 the fee for copying such document, it shall be provided. With respect to
43 the electronic copy of such financial statements and detailed claim
44 information, which shall be accessible on the department's web site, the
45 department shall highlight the availability of such information to the
46 public on such web site, and the link to each insurer's financial state-
47 ment and the aggregated detailed claim information shall be accessible
48 in a simple and easy manner. Both the financial statement and aggregated
49 detailed claim information on the department web site shall be available
50 in spreadsheet format, in addition to any other format the superinten-
51 dent determines is appropriate.
52 (e) On or before July first of each year, the superintendent shall
53 issue reports summarizing and explaining the information collected from
54 the financial statements and the detailed claim information. Copies of
55 such reports shall be forwarded to the temporary president of the
56 senate, the speaker of the assembly and the chairs of both the senate
A. 2504 4
1 and assembly insurance committees. Such reports shall be public docu-
2 ments and shall be accessible both in paper copy and on the department's
3 web site.
4 (f) Where an insurer fails or refuses to provide the superintendent
5 with a full and complete disclosure as required by this section, the
6 superintendent shall take such action he or she deems necessary to bring
7 the insurer into full compliance. Such action may include imposition of
8 a civil penalty of up to fifty thousand dollars assessed against the
9 insurer for each violation, temporary suspension of any right to issue
10 additional policies or contracts until the insurer brings itself into
11 full compliance, an audit of the insurer's records by the department or
12 its designated representative to obtain the information and which audit
13 shall be paid for by the insurer, or any other civil remedy the super-
14 intendent deems warranted or necessary until such insurer fully
15 complies. In addition the officer whose signature is affixed to such
16 statement may be personally penalized to the same extent.
17 (g) The superintendent may promulgate such rules and regulations he or
18 she deems necessary for the proper administration of the provisions of
19 this section, and such rules and regulations may be promulgated on an
20 emergency basis if the superintendent warrants such action to be neces-
21 sary.
22 § 4. Severability. If any item, clause, sentence, subparagraph, subdi-
23 vision or other part of this act, or the application thereof to any
24 person or circumstances shall be held to be invalid, such holding shall
25 not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this act but it shall
26 be confined in its operation to the item, clause, sentence, subpara-
27 graph, subdivision or other part of this act directly involved in such
28 holding, or to the person and circumstances therein involved.
29 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
