Amd §3420, Ins L; amd §4, Chap of 2023 (as proposed S.439 & A.1178)
 
Relates to supplementary uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage for police agencies; removes provisions of law relating to self-insurance; amends the effective date to remove contracts.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8503
SPONSOR: Jacobson
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to supplementary unin-
sured and underinsured motorist coverage for police agencies; and to
amend a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the insurance law and the
vehicle and traffic law relating to supplementary uninsured and underin-
sured motorist coverage for police agencies, as proposed in legislative
bills numbers S. 439 and A. 1178, in relation to the effectiveness ther-
eof
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to make amendments to Chapter 751 of the
Laws of 2023 relating to uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
for police agencies.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Sections 1 removes reference to self-insurance policies, clarifies that
supplemental uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance coverage shall
apply to police vehicles that are principally garaged or used in this
state, and removes the requirement that SUM coverage be no less than the
bodily injury liability insurance limits of the policy.
Section 2 provides a technical amendment to section 4 of Chapter 751 of
the Laws of 2023.
Section 3 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Pursuant to State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Fitzgerald, 25
NY3rd 801 (2015), the New York State Court of Appeals determined the
statutory mandate that all motor vehicle insurance policies containing
SUM coverage has no application to police vehicles. In that case, a
police officer, who was riding in a police vehicle driven by another
police officer, was injured when the police vehicle was hit by a driver
who only had $25,000 in liability coverage. The injured officer
attempted to collect under his own underinsurance policy above the
$25,000. policy of the driver who hit the police vehicle. That case held
that SUM coverage prescribed by Insurance Law § 3420(0(2)(A) exempts
police vehicles from its definition of the term "motor vehicle" absent a
specific provision to the contrary in a given SUM endorsement.
Chapter 751 of the Laws of 2023 required that insurance policies cover-
ing police and fire vehicles to provide supplemental coverage for bodily
injury sustained by an uninsured or an underinsured motorist when the
policy includes such endorsement. This Chapter amendment removes refer-
ence to self-insurance policies, clarifies that supplemental
uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance coverage shall apply to police
vehicles that are principally garaged or used in this state, and removes
the requirement that SUM coverage be no less than the bodily injury
liability insurance limits of the policy.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the
provisions of section one of this act shall take effect on the same date
and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the
insurance law and the vehicle and traffic law relating to supplementary
uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage for police agencies, as
proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 439 and A. 1178, takes effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8503
IN ASSEMBLY
January 4, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to supplementary unin-
sured and underinsured motorist coverage for police agencies; and to
amend a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the insurance law and the
vehicle and traffic law relating to supplementary uninsured and unde-
rinsured motorist coverage for police agencies, as proposed in legis-
lative bills numbers S. 439 and A. 1178, in relation to the effective-
ness thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph 5 of subsection (f) of section 3420 of the insur-
2 ance law, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the
3 insurance law relating to supplementary uninsured and underinsured
4 motorist coverage for police agencies, as proposed in legislative bills
5 numbers S. 439 and A. 1178, is amended to read as follows:
6 (5) This paragraph shall apply to [self-insurance or] a policy that
7 provides supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance cover-
8 age for bodily injury and is a policy: (A) issued or delivered in this
9 state that insures against liability arising out of the ownership, main-
10 tenance, and use of a fire vehicle, as defined in section one hundred
11 fifteen-a of the vehicle and traffic law, where the fire vehicle is
12 principally garaged or used in this state, or a police vehicle, as
13 defined in section one hundred thirty-two-a of the vehicle and traffic
14 law, where the police vehicle is principally garaged or used in this
15 state; or (B) as specified in paragraph one of this subsection. Every
16 such policy that insures a fire department, fire company, as defined in
17 section one hundred of the general municipal law, an ambulance service,
18 a voluntary ambulance service, as defined in section three thousand one
19 of the public health law, or a police agency, as defined in section
20 eight hundred thirty-five of the executive law, shall provide such
21 supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance coverage [no
22 less than the bodily injury liability insurance limits of coverage
23 provided under such policy] to an individual employed by or who is a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02192-02-4
A. 8503 2
1 member of the fire department, fire company, ambulance service, volun-
2 tary ambulance service, or police agency and who is injured by an unin-
3 sured or underinsured motor vehicle while acting in the scope of the
4 individual's duties for the fire department, fire company, ambulance
5 service, voluntary ambulance service, or police agency covered under the
6 policy, except with respect to the use or operation by such an individ-
7 ual of a motor vehicle not covered under the policy.
8 § 2. Section 4 of a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the insurance
9 law and the vehicle and traffic law relating to supplementary uninsured
10 and underinsured motorist coverage for police agencies, as proposed in
11 legislative bills numbers S. 439 and A. 1178, is amended to read as
12 follows:
13 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to poli-
14 cies [and contracts] issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or
15 after such effective date.
16 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
17 the provisions of section one of this act shall take effect on the same
18 date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending
19 the insurance law and the vehicle and traffic law relating to supplemen-
20 tary uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage for police agencies,
21 as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 439 and A. 1178, takes
22 effect.