Advocacy

​Big I NY Applauds Senate Passage of Excess Lines Affidavit Simplification Bill:This week the New York Senate passed Big I NY-supported legislation to streamline the affidavit required when placing coverage in the excess market. The bill, S.8127 sponsored by Senator Neil Breslin (D, Albany), would reduce significant burdens on agents by streamlining the reporting of declinations by reducing declination data elements from twenty-one to nine. New York is one of only 13 states/jurisdictions that require declination information for each policy to be filed with the state or a stamping office. Of these states New York filings are the most burdensome, with seven required data elements…

​This week, Big I NY joined fifty business organizations in calling on the state legislature to use up to $3B in state funds to provide desperately-needed relief from rising unemployment insurance (UI) taxes. Soaring UI taxes demand the State's attention - inaction will only delay New York's economic recovery. According to the New York State Comptroller, compared to contributions made in 2020, total state and federal UI taxes paid by New York employers will increase by at least 45.4 percent to as much as 254 percent in 2025.3 This would be catastrophic for our state's job creators.The proposed Assembly Insurance Committee hearing to evaluate the…

What Happened:On Thursday evening, Governor Hochul signed Big I NY-supported amendments to the Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act (CIDA). Fifty-five days since the passage of the CIDA, agents and insurers can finally breathe a sigh of relief as significant beneficial changes are officially on the books. The CIDA will now apply only to actions filed after December 31, 2021 (not all pending actions, as originally passed). Additionally, policy applications are no longer subject to mandatory disclosure, PIP actions are exempted from disclosure, and the time frame for disclosure will be extended from 60 days to 90.What's Next:While the amended CIDA is less sweeping than the original, it still…