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S04862 Summary:

S04862 Actions:

S04862 Committee Votes:

S04862 Floor Votes:

S04862 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4862
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 16, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- 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 establishing a captive
          insurance program for commuter vans; and to amend  the  state  finance
          law, in relation to establishing the commuter van trust fund

          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  7013
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 7013. Captive insurance program for commuter vans utilizing existing
     4  moneys  provided  via  New  York  state commuter van stabilization pilot
     5  program. (a) The superintendent shall utilize and  implement  a  captive
     6  insurance  program for commuter vans that are engaged in the business of
     7  carrying or transporting passengers for hire. The program shall include,
     8  but shall not be limited to:
     9    (1) identifying and licensing a captive insurance company or companies
    10  to provide necessary insurance coverage to commuter vans;
    11    (2) standards for enrollment  of  eligible  commuter  vans,  including
    12  mechanisms for determining eligibility; and
    13    (3) standards for monitoring the performance of such captive insurance
    14  company  or  companies  in  providing  affordable  insurance coverage to
    15  commuter vans participating in the program pursuant to subsection (c) of
    16  this section.
    17    (b) For the purposes of this section, the term  "commuter  van"  shall
    18  mean a commuter van service having a seating capacity of nine passengers
    19  but not more than twenty-four passengers or such greater capacity as the
    20  superintendent may establish by rule and carrying passengers for hire.
    21    (c) Insurance companies shall maintain requirements, including but not
    22  limited  to:  $500,000  combined  single  limits (CSL); $50,000 personal
    23  injury protection (PIP) (Basic); and  $25,000/$50,000 uninsured motorist
    24  coverage (UM/UIM).   In addition, all  no  fault  insurance  related  to
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09645-01-3
        S. 4862                             2
 
     1  commuter vans insured in this program will rely on the medical treatment
     2  guidelines promulgated in existing workers' compensation law.
     3    § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 89-dd to
     4  read as follows:
     5    §  89-dd.  Commuter  van trust fund. 1. There is hereby established in
     6  the custody of the comptroller and the superintendent or its  designated
     7  agency, a special fund to be known as the "commuter van trust fund".
     8    2.  Such  fund  shall  consist of the eleven million two hundred fifty
     9  thousand dollars allocated in the fiscal year two thousand  twenty-three
    10  New  York state budget for the New York State Commuter Van Stabilization
    11  Pilot Program, in addition to all other grants, bequests or other moneys
    12  appropriated, credited or transferred thereto from  any  other  fund  or
    13  source pursuant to law.
    14    3.  Moneys  in  the commuter van trust fund shall be kept separate and
    15  apart and shall not be commingled with any other moneys in  the  custody
    16  of the comptroller and shall only be expended herein and in such amounts
    17  as approved by the division of the budget.
    18    4. The moneys received by such fund shall be expended to pay for loss-
    19  es in excess of two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
    20    5.  Empire  state  development shall authorize three or more insurance
    21  companies, which have a bidding window that will close thirty days  from
    22  the  effective  date  of this section to participate in this program. At
    23  the end of the thirty days, in the event  there  is  not  a  minimum  of
    24  three,  empire  state  development  shall designate the most well funded
    25  commercial auto insurance companies currently operating in New  York  to
    26  work  with  empire state development and the commuter van trust fund, to
    27  issue commuter van drivers in New York insurance  policies  with  limits
    28  provided herein.
    29    6.  In  the  event  of  claims in excess of two hundred fifty thousand
    30  dollars, insurance companies designated to  provide  insurance  policies
    31  will maintain custody at an annual proportionally gradiated incline with
    32  an  initial  assigned  risk payout rate of twenty percent of the overall
    33  claim in the first year, with an  additional  ten  percent  each  fiscal
    34  year.    For  the first year, the commuter van trust fund shall maintain
    35  custody at an assigned risk of eighty percent,  and  an  annual  propor-
    36  tionally gradiated decline of ten percent.
    37    7.  After five years the claims activity shall be actuarially analyzed
    38  and if the rates can maintain an underwriting profit and a  large  claim
    39  would  not put the program into a negative combined ratio, the amount of
    40  moneys maintained in the fund shall be reduced.
    41    (a) After five years of the effective date  of  this  section,  empire
    42  state  development  shall  revisit the stabilization of the commuter van
    43  market relative to section seven thousand thirteen of the insurance  law
    44  in  New York state and either consider a new apportionment to the commu-
    45  ter van trust fund; or
    46    (b) In the event such program has stabilized the commuter  van  insur-
    47  ance market, empire state development will return any leftover moneys to
    48  the state general fund.
    49    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.