Bill Text: NY A02207 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Prohibits an insurer from cancelling, refusing to issue, refusing to renew, or increasing the premium of a policy or to exclude, limit, restrict, or reduce coverage under such policy solely on the basis that one or more claims have been made against any policy during the preceding sixty months for a loss that is the result of a hate crime.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-03-03 - signed chap.65 [A02207 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02207-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2207

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 24, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  EICHENSTEIN -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Insurance

        AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to insurance for  victims
          of a hate crime; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating
          thereto

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 3114 of the insurance law, as added by a chapter of
     2  the laws of 2022 amending the insurance law relating  to  insurance  for
     3  victims  of  a  hate  crime, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
     4  7658-B and A.  8869-B, is REPEALED.
     5    § 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3422 to read
     6  as follows:
     7    § 3422. Hate crimes;  coverage  refusal.  (a)  For  purposes  of  this
     8  section,  "insured"  means  a current policyholder or a person or entity
     9  that is covered under an insurance policy.
    10    (b) This section shall apply to policies of insurance if  the  insured
    11  or proposed insured is:
    12    (1) an individual;
    13    (2)  a  business  entity  that is independently owned and operated and
    14  employs one hundred or fewer individuals;
    15    (3) a religious organization;
    16    (4) an educational organization; or
    17    (5) any other nonprofit organization that is  organized  and  operated
    18  for religious, charitable or educational purposes.
    19    (c)  An  insurer  that issues or delivers a policy in this state shall
    20  not cancel, refuse to issue, refuse to renew, or increase the premium of
    21  a policy or exclude, limit, restrict,  or  reduce  coverage  under  such
    22  policy  solely  on  the  basis  that  one  or more claims have been made
    23  against any policy during the preceding sixty months for a loss that  is
    24  the  result of a hate crime, as defined pursuant to article four hundred

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03944-01-3
        A. 2207                             2

     1  eighty-five of the penal law, committed against the person  or  property
     2  insured  if  the named insured provides evidence to the insurer that the
     3  act causing such loss is a result of a hate crime and  that  an  insured
     4  was not the perpetrator of the hate crime.
     5    (d)  Nothing in this section shall prohibit an insurer from canceling,
     6  refusing to renew, increasing the premium  of  an  insurance  policy  or
     7  excluding, limiting, restricting, or reducing coverage under such policy
     8  due  to  other  factors  that are permitted by any other section of this
     9  chapter, including the factors set forth in section two  thousand  three
    10  hundred three of this chapter.
    11    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    12  have become a law and shall apply to all policies issued, renewed, modi-
    13  fied, altered or amended on or after such date; provided, however,  that
    14  the  provisions of section one of this act shall take effect on the same
    15  date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws  of  2022  amending
    16  the  insurance law relating to insurance for victims of a hate crime, as
    17  proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7658-B  and  A.  8869-B,  takes
    18  effect.