Relates to immunity from civil liability and information furnished to or from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which is dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of the banking law or the insurance law.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3214A REVISED MEMO 04/25/2019
SPONSOR: Cook TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the financial services law, in
relation to immunity from civil liability for certain information relat-
ing to insurance or banking violations
PURPOSE:
This bill grants immunity for reports of suspected fraud made by or to
the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a nonprofit dedicated to the inves-
tigation and prosecution of insurance fraud.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds (d) to section 405 of the Financial Services Law
Section 2 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Information sharing is the most important tool in fighting insurance
fraud. Providing adequate protections to organizations that compile data
on the state and national level from insurance companies and federal,
state and local law enforcement will allow for greater exchange of
information in New York. This statutory immunity already exists in a
majority of states including California, Florida, Pennsylvania and
Texas. Increasing the exchange of information is significantly aiding
federal, state and local law enforcement fraud and vehicle theft inves-
tigations.
Broadening the exchange of information among those fighting fraud will
have a positive impact on the New York anti-fraud environment and
provide an immediate boost to information sharing for our state.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.8281- 2017/18; S.696 - 2018 Passed the Senate
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3214--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. COOK, WRIGHT, DICKENS, GOTTFRIED, SAYEGH, HYND-
MAN, RICHARDSON, GRIFFIN, TAYLOR, WILLIAMS, ARROYO -- Multi-Sponsored
by -- M. of A. BUTTENSCHON, SIMON -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Banks -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the financial services law, in relation to immunity from
civil liability for certain information relating to insurance or bank-
ing violations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 405 of the financial services law is amended to
2 read as follows:
3 § 405. Immunity. In the absence of fraud or bad faith, no person
4 subject to the provisions of this chapter, the banking law or the insur-
5 ance law shall be subject to civil liability, and no civil cause of
6 action of any nature shall arise against such person for any: (a) infor-
7 mation relating to suspected violations of the banking law or the insur-
8 ance law furnished to law enforcement officials, their agents and
9 employees; (b) information relating to suspected violations of the bank-
10 ing law or the insurance law furnished to other persons subject to the
11 provisions of this chapter; [and] (c) information furnished in reports
12 to the financial frauds and consumer protection unit, its agents or
13 employees or any state agency investigating fraud or misconduct relating
14 to financial fraud, its agents or employees; and (d) information
15 furnished to or from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. For the
16 purposes of this section the National Insurance Crime Bureau is a
17 nonprofit dedicated to investigation and enforcement of the banking law
18 or the insurance law. The superintendent or any employee of the finan-
19 cial frauds and consumer protection unit, in the absence of fraud or bad
20 faith, shall not be subject to civil liability and no civil cause of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08049-04-9
A. 3214--A 2
1 action of any nature shall arise against the superintendent or any such
2 employee by virtue of the publication of any report or bulletin related
3 to the official activities of the financial frauds and consumer
4 protection unit. Nothing herein is intended to abrogate or modify in any
5 way any common law privilege or immunity heretofore enjoyed by any
6 person.
7 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
