Bill Text: NY A00959 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to premium reductions of commercial risk insurance policies covering for-hire vehicles and a for-hire motor vehicle safety program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-01-28 - signed chap.4 [A00959 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A00959-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 959 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Insurance AN ACT to amend the insurance law and the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to premium reductions of commercial risk insurance policies covering for-hire vehicles and to amend a chapter of the laws of 2020 amending the insurance law relating to establishing the for-hire motor vehicle safety program as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7881 and A. 9763-A, in relation to the effectiveness of such chap- ter The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 2353 of the insurance law, as 2 added by a chapter of the laws of 2020 amending the insurance law relat- 3 ing to establishing the for-hire motor vehicle safety program as 4 proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7881 and A. 9763-A, is amended 5 to read as follows: 6 (d) The superintendent shall provide for an actuarially appropriate 7 reduction for a period of three years in the rates of premiums for 8 commercial risk insurance applicable to motor vehicles engaged in the 9 business of carrying or transporting passengers for-hire, having a seat- 10 ing capacity of not less than eight passengers, for each triennial 11 completion of a course of instruction on for-hire motor vehicle safety 12 as authorized pursuant to this section. The [superintendent] commis- 13 sioner of motor vehicles shall evaluate and approve any for-hire vehicle 14 safety program created pursuant to this section within sixty days of the 15 effective date of this section. 16 § 2. Subsection (f) of section 2353 of the insurance law is relettered 17 subsection (g) and a new subsection (f) is added to read as follows: 18 (f) Any insured who successfully completes a course of instruction on 19 for-hire motor vehicle safety pursuant to this section and receives a EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07186-01-1A. 959 2 1 premium reduction on the insured's commercial risk insurance policy 2 covering the for-hire vehicle shall not, during the period set forth in 3 subsection (e) of this section, also be eligible for an additional 4 premium reduction on the insured's commercial risk insurance policy 5 covering the for-hire vehicle for successful completion of the motor 6 vehicle accident prevention course, known as the national safety coun- 7 cil's defensive driving course, or any driver improvement course 8 approved by the department of motor vehicles as being equivalent to the 9 national safety council's defensive driving course, authorized under 10 section two thousand three hundred thirty-six of this article. 11 § 3. Subsection (a) of section 2336 of the insurance law, as amended 12 by chapter 751 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 13 (a) (1) Any schedule of rates or rating plan for motor vehicle liabil- 14 ity and collision insurance submitted to the superintendent shall 15 provide for an actuarially appropriate reduction in premium charges for 16 any insured for a three year period after successfully completing a 17 motor vehicle accident prevention course, known as the national safety 18 council's defensive driving course, or any driver improvement course 19 approved by the department of motor vehicles as being equivalent to the 20 national safety council's defensive driving course, provided that, 21 except as provided in article twelve-C of the vehicle and traffic law, 22 there shall be no reduction in premiums for a [self instruction] self- 23 instruction defensive driving course or a course [which] that does not 24 provide for actual classroom instruction for a minimum number of hours 25 as determined by the department of motor vehicles. Such reduction in 26 premium charges shall be subsequently modified to the extent appropri- 27 ate, based upon analysis of loss experience statistics and other rele- 28 vant factors. All such accident prevention courses shall be monitored by 29 the department of motor vehicles and shall include components of 30 instruction in "Road Rage" awareness and in "Work Zone Safety" awareness 31 as defined by the commissioner of motor vehicles. The provisions of this 32 section shall not apply to attendance at a program pursuant to article 33 twenty-one of the vehicle and traffic law as a result of any traffic 34 infraction. 35 (2) Any insured who successfully completes a course pursuant to this 36 subsection and receives a premium reduction on the insured's insurance 37 policy covering the for-hire vehicle, shall not, during the period set 38 forth in subsection (e) of section two thousand three hundred fifty- 39 three of this article, also be eligible for an additional premium 40 reduction on the insured's commercial risk insurance policy covering the 41 for-hire motor vehicle for successful completion of the for-hire safety 42 motor vehicle course authorized under section two thousand three hundred 43 fifty-three of this article. 44 § 4. Subsection (a) of section 2336 of the insurance law, as amended 45 by chapter 585 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows: 46 (a) (1) Any schedule of rates or rating plan for motor vehicle liabil- 47 ity and collision insurance submitted to the superintendent shall 48 provide for an actuarially appropriate reduction in premium charges for 49 any insured for a three year period after successfully completing a 50 motor vehicle accident prevention course, known as the national safety 51 council's defensive driving course, or any driver improvement course 52 approved by the department of motor vehicles as being equivalent to the 53 national safety council's defensive driving course, provided that in 54 either event there shall be no reduction in premiums for a [self55instruction] self-instruction defensive driving course or a course 56 [which] that does not provide for actual classroom instruction for aA. 959 3 1 minimum number of hours as determined by the department of motor vehi- 2 cles. Such reduction in premium charges shall be subsequently modified 3 to the extent appropriate, based upon analysis of loss experience 4 statistics and other relevant factors. All such accident prevention 5 courses shall be monitored by the department of motor vehicles and shall 6 include components of instruction in "Road Rage" awareness and in "Work 7 Zone Safety" awareness as defined by the commissioner of motor vehicles. 8 The provisions of this section shall not apply to attendance at a 9 program pursuant to article twenty-one of the vehicle and traffic law as 10 a result of any traffic infraction. 11 (2) Any insured who successfully completes a course pursuant to this 12 subsection and receives a premium reduction on the insured's insurance 13 policy covering the for-hire vehicle, shall not, during the period set 14 forth in subsection (e) of section two thousand three hundred fifty- 15 three of this article, also be eligible for an additional premium 16 reduction on the insured's commercial risk insurance policy covering the 17 for-hire motor vehicle for successful completion of the for-hire safety 18 motor vehicle course authorized under section two thousand three hundred 19 fifty-three of this article. 20 § 5. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 21 397-c to read as follows: 22 § 397-c. For-hire motor vehicle safety program. The commissioner shall 23 evaluate and approve any for-hire motor vehicle safety program created 24 pursuant to section two thousand three hundred fifty-three of the insur- 25 ance law within sixty days of the effective date of such section. 26 § 6. Section 2 of a chapter of the laws of 2020 amending the insurance 27 law relating to establishing the for-hire motor vehicle safety program 28 as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7881 and A. 9763-A, is 29 amended to read as follows: 30 § 2. This act shall take effect [immediately and shall apply to all31policies issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after the32sixtieth day following the effective date of this act] on the sixtieth 33 day after it shall have become a law. 34 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 35 sections one, two, three and five of this act shall take effect on the 36 same date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2020 amend- 37 ing the insurance law relating to establishing the for-hire motor 38 vehicle safety program as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7881 39 and A. 9763-A, takes effect; and provided further that the amendments 40 to subsection (a) of section 2336 of the insurance law made by section 41 three of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of 42 such subsection when upon such date the provisions of section four of 43 this act shall take effect.
