Bill Text: NY A08539 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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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 - Dead) 2022-04-07 - print number 8539a [A08539 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A08539-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8539--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    December 13, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. DILAN, GLICK, SIMON, STECK, DeSTEFANO -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Insurance -- recommitted to  the
          Committee  on  Insurance in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted to said committee

        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

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13614-02-2
        A. 8539--A                          2

     1  other compensation received from the insured, shall not exceed the maxi-
     2  mum amount that the adjuster may charge in  accordance  with  the  regu-
     3  lations required pursuant to subsection (p) of this section.
     4    (B)  No  public  adjuster who has a financial or ownership interest in
     5  the individual or entity that performs the services, work,  or  repairs,
     6  shall  refer  the insured to the individual or entity [unless the finan-
     7  cial or ownership interest is prominently and clearly disclosed  to  the
     8  insured  in  the  written memorandum described in subsection (p) of this
     9  section].  If a public adjuster refers an insured to an  individual  who
    10  is  related  to the individual by blood or affinity to the second degree
    11  of consanguinity, or to an entity owned or controlled by such  an  indi-
    12  vidual,  for services, work, or repairs, relating to any insurance claim
    13  for which the public adjuster represents the insured or  has  negotiated
    14  or  effected  a  settlement, then the public adjuster shall disclose the
    15  relationship to the insured  in  the  written  memorandum  described  in
    16  subsection (p) of this section.
    17    (C)  No  individual or entity that performs services, work, or repairs
    18  may perform the services, work, or repairs  relating  to  any  insurance
    19  claim  for which a public adjuster represents the insured or has negoti-
    20  ated or effected a settlement where such public adjuster has a financial
    21  or ownership interest in such individual or  entity  that  performs  the
    22  services, work, or repairs.
    23    §  2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    24  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.