Bill Text: NY A02414 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits an individual or entity that performs services, work, or repairs from performing the services, work, or repairs relating to any insurance claim for which a public adjuster represents the insured or has negotiated or effected a settlement where such public adjuster has a financial or ownership interest in such individual or entity that performs the services, work, or repairs; requires public adjusters to make certain disclosures.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to insurance [A02414 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02414-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2414

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 26, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. DILAN, GLICK, SIMON, STECK, DeSTEFANO -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Insurance

        AN ACT to amend the  insurance  law,  in  relation  to  public  adjuster
          disclosures and financial or ownership interests

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

     1    Section 1. Subsection (s) of section 2108 of  the  insurance  law,  as
     2  added by chapter 546 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
     3    (s)  (1)  (A)  Every public adjuster shall have an affirmative duty to
     4  act on behalf and in the best interests of the insured when  negotiating
     5  for or effecting the settlement of an insurance claim for the insured or
     6  otherwise acting as a public adjuster.
     7    (B)  In  the  event  of  a  claim, an adjuster working on behalf of an
     8  insurance company must disclose in its initial written and verbal commu-
     9  nication with the insured the following statement:
    10    "I am an insurance company adjuster working on behalf of the insurance
    11  company. I do not represent your interests, I  represent  theirs.    You
    12  have  the  right  to  hire  your  own licensed Public Adjuster who would
    13  represent your interests exclusively, for a fee, and who owes you, their
    14  client, a fiduciary responsibility."
    15    (2) (A) No public adjuster  shall  receive  any  compensation,  either
    16  directly  or  indirectly, for a referral of the insured to an individual
    17  or entity for services, work or repairs, relating to any insurance claim
    18  for which the public adjuster represents the insured or  has  negotiated
    19  or  effected  a  settlement,  unless the compensation is prominently and
    20  clearly disclosed to the insured in the written memorandum described  in
    21  subsection  (p) of this section. Any such compensation received shall be
    22  deemed to be compensation from the insured and, in combination with  any
    23  other compensation received from the insured, shall not exceed the maxi-
    24  mum  amount  that  the  adjuster may charge in accordance with the regu-
    25  lations required pursuant to subsection (p) of this section.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03244-01-3
        A. 2414                             2

     1    (B) No public adjuster who has a financial or  ownership  interest  in
     2  the  individual  or entity that performs the services, work, or repairs,
     3  shall refer the insured to the individual or entity [unless  the  finan-
     4  cial  or  ownership interest is prominently and clearly disclosed to the
     5  insured  in  the  written memorandum described in subsection (p) of this
     6  section].  If a public adjuster refers an insured to an  individual  who
     7  is  related  to the individual by blood or affinity to the second degree
     8  of consanguinity, or to an entity owned or controlled by such  an  indi-
     9  vidual,  for services, work, or repairs, relating to any insurance claim
    10  for which the public adjuster represents the insured or  has  negotiated
    11  or  effected  a  settlement, then the public adjuster shall disclose the
    12  relationship to the insured  in  the  written  memorandum  described  in
    13  subsection (p) of this section.
    14    (C)  No  individual or entity that performs services, work, or repairs
    15  may perform the services, work, or repairs  relating  to  any  insurance
    16  claim  for which a public adjuster represents the insured or has negoti-
    17  ated or effected a settlement where such public adjuster has a financial
    18  or ownership interest in such individual or  entity  that  performs  the
    19  services, work, or repairs.
    20    §  2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    21  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.