NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1620
SPONSOR: Hevesi TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to providing
conditional renewal notices to policyholders
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to require that insurance carriers provide
conditional renewal notices to workers' compensation policyholders when
the premium will increase more than ten percent upon renewal with an
affiliated insurance company that is under common control with the
previous insurer.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This legislation amends the workers' compensation law by adding a subdi-
vision 5b to section 54 of the workers compensation law.
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current Insurance Law Section 3426(e), commercial policyholders
are entitled to receive a conditional renewal notice 6o to 120 days in
advance of the expiration date of their policy if the premium for their
renewal policy will increase by more than ten percent.
The law requiring such notices protects the customer by affording the
opportunity to look for alternative coverage before their current policy
expires.
Unfortunately, the rules for workers' compensation policies are not the
same. A worker's compensation carrier is not required to provide any
notice to a policyholder when the renewal premium will increase by more
than ten percent.
Instead, businesses with worker's compensation policies often receive
the bill for their renewal policy just days before the effective date,
only to find that the premium has increased substantially. This type of
increase in premiums happens most frequently when the renewal is being
offered through a different insurer that is affiliated with the insurer
that provided the expiring policy.
Since the policyholders were not given any advance notice, they have
lost the opportunity to look for alternative coverage and must renew
their policy at the new, higher rate. This legislation will provide
worker's compensation policy holders 30 days advance notice when their
workers' compensation premium will increase by more than 10 percent upon
renewal and the policy is being renewed by another affiliated insurer
that is under common control with the insurer that wrote the expiring
policy. This will give them the opportunity to shop for alternative
coverage that may be more affordable.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.2948A (2015-2016);
A.9224 /S.7268 (2013-2014).
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law, and shall apply to all policies issued or
renewed on or after such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1620
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Labor
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to providing
conditional renewal notices to policyholders
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 54 of the workers' compensation
2 law, as amended by section 23 of part GG of chapter 57 of the laws of
3 2013, is amended to read as follows:
4 5. (a) Cancellation and termination of insurance contracts. No
5 contract of insurance issued by an insurance carrier against liability
6 arising under this chapter shall be cancelled within the time limited in
7 such contract for its expiration unless notice is given as required by
8 this section. When cancellation is due to non-payment of premiums and
9 assessments, such cancellation shall not be effective until at least ten
10 days after a notice of cancellation of such contract, on a date speci-
11 fied in such notice, shall be filed in the office of the chair and also
12 served on the employer. When cancellation is due to any reason other
13 than non-payment of premiums and assessments, such cancellation shall
14 not be effective until at least thirty days after a notice of cancella-
15 tion of such contract, on a date specified in such notice, shall be
16 filed in the office of the chair and also served on the employer;
17 provided, however, in either case, that if the employer has secured
18 insurance with another insurance carrier which becomes effective prior
19 to the expiration of the time stated in such notice, the cancellation
20 shall be effective as of the date of such other coverage. No insurer
21 shall refuse to renew any policy insuring against liability arising
22 under this chapter unless at least thirty days prior to its expiration
23 notice of intention not to renew has been filed in the office of the
24 chair and also served on the employer.
25 Such notice shall be served on the employer by delivering it to him,
26 her or it or by sending it by mail, by certified or registered letter,
27 return receipt requested, addressed to the employer at his, her or its
28 last known place of business; provided that, if the employer be a part-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02654-01-7
A. 1620 2
1 nership, then such notice may be so given to any of one of the partners,
2 and if the employer be a corporation then the notice may be given to any
3 agent or officer of the corporation upon whom legal process may be
4 served; and further provided that an employer may designate any person
5 or entity at any address to receive such notice including the desig-
6 nation of one person or entity to receive notice on behalf of multiple
7 entities insured under one insurance policy and that service of notice
8 at the address so designated upon the person or entity so designated by
9 delivery or by mail, by certified or registered letter, return receipt
10 requested, shall satisfy the notice requirement of this section.
11 Provided, however, the right to cancellation of a policy of insurance in
12 the state fund shall be exercised only for non-payment of premiums and
13 assessments or as provided in section ninety-four of this chapter.
14 The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply with respect to
15 policies containing coverage pursuant to subsection (j) of section three
16 thousand four hundred twenty of the insurance law relating to every
17 policy providing comprehensive personal liability insurance on a one,
18 two, three or four family owner-occupied dwelling.
19 In the event such cancellation or termination notice is not filed with
20 the chair within the required time period, the chair shall impose a
21 penalty in the amount of up to five hundred dollars for each ten-day
22 period the insurance carrier or state insurance fund failed to file the
23 notification. All penalties collected pursuant to this subdivision shall
24 be deposited in the uninsured employers' fund.
25 (b) Conditional renewal. A contract of insurance shall remain in full
26 force and effect subject to the same terms and conditions, loss cost
27 multipliers and classification of the employer with regard to the
28 payment of dividends, pursuant to sections four thousand one hundred six
29 and four thousand one hundred fourteen of the insurance law, unless
30 written notice is mailed or delivered by the insurance carrier to the
31 employer, at the address shown on the policy, and to such employer's
32 authorized agent or broker, indicating the insurance carrier's intention
33 to condition renewal upon issuance of a policy that supersedes a policy
34 previously issued by another insurance carrier under common control that
35 will result in an increased premium in excess of ten percent (exclusive
36 of any premium increase generated as a result of increased loss costs
37 filed and approved in accordance with subsection (e) of section two
38 thousand three hundred five of the insurance law, increased exposure
39 units, or as a result of experience rating, contractor credit adjustment
40 program, drug free credit, merit rating, managed care credit, large
41 deductible, retrospective rating or audit). Such notice shall be mailed
42 or delivered at least thirty days in advance of the expiration date of
43 the policy, and shall set forth the amount of the premium increase (or,
44 where such amount cannot reasonably be determined as of the time the
45 notice is provided, a reasonable estimate of the premium increase based
46 upon the information available to the insurance carrier at that time).
47 Nothing in this subdivision will require the insurance carrier to
48 provide such notice when the employer, an agent or broker authorized by
49 the employer, or another insurance carrier of the employer has mailed or
50 delivered written notice that the policy has been replaced or is no
51 longer desired.
52 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
53 it shall have become a law, and shall apply to all policies issued or
54 renewed on or after such effective date.
