Advocacy

As expected, chapter amendments to the Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act (CIDA) were introduced this week, which resolve our most serious concerns. The original bill, which we strongly opposed, would have required the automatic disclosure of all insurance information within 60 days of litigation, including the full policy application. This could have created substantial burdens and potential E&O exposure for agents, as well as compromising sensitive customer information. The chapter amendments remove the policy application from automatic disclosure, lengthen the time frame to 90 days, and will exempt motor vehicle PIP litigation. The amended CIDA is not expected to have a significant impact on independent agents. The…

​On December 12, the NYS Assembly passed Big I NY-supported legislation to eliminate an unnecessary ​burden on customers by repealing the anti-arson application statewide. Section 3403 of the Insurance Law requires the completion of an “anti-arson application" for people seeking property insurance for fire or explosion to complete. If a policyholder fails to complete this application, which is required upon initial application for insurance and on each subsequent renewal of the policy, the insurer must cancel the policy. Technology has advance dramatically since the application was first required, and the law has outlived its usefulness. Insurance companies today are required by law to have fraud prevention plans, which are filed with…

What Happened:On December 31st, Governor Hochul signed the “Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act"​ (CIDA) on the condition that the legislature would swiftly pass several changes to the bill, referred to as “chapter amendments." The bill as signed​ requires, among other things, defendants in a lawsuit to automatically disclose all insurance information, including the policy application, within 60 days of answering for new actions and by March 31, 2022 for all pending actions. The chapter amendments agreed upon by Governor Hochul and the legislative leaders would exempt the policy application from automatic disclosure. These amendments are expected to be passed soon, but at the time of writing…