Advocacy

​The New York State Legislature approved an abridged 2020-21 state budget on April 2. The budget did not include the types of policy changes lawmakers have customarily added in other years. For insurance agents and brokers, this means the proposal to expand the powers of the Department of Financial Services were not part of the final product. Big I New York members argued strenuously against this proposal on Advocacy Day in Albany last month. The proposal’s failure is a testament to their persistence.​ Source

On March 18th, Governor Cuomo signed a bill intended to address employee sick leave, both in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak, and more generally. The bill took effect immediately. SUMMARY OF BENEFITS Employer Size Covid-19 Benefits (Effective Immediately) Sick Leave Benefits (Effective 9/14/20) 4 or fewer employees and net profits of $1 million or less Unpaid sick leave for the duration of the Quarantine Order 40 hours of unpaid leave 5-99 employees or net profits of more than $1 million 5 days paid leave then unpaid sick leave for the duration of the Quarantine Order 40 hours of paid leave 100+ employees 14 days paid…

Today, Big I NY, along with other industry trade groups, ​ sent a letter to DFS Superintendent Linda Lacewell urging the department to take critical steps to protect policyholders. Together, we call on the DFS to protect consumers’ ability to obtain comprehensive and collision insurance by suspending the photo inspection requirement in Regulation 79. With current staffing limitations, and social distancing directives, customers are unable to travel to inspection locations. Furthermore, we call on the DFS to implement a grace period for CE and license renewal requirements for the duration of the current State of Emergency. Insurance agents and brokers face increased difficulty in obtaining the required continuing…