Bill Text: NY S08525 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the definition of service contracts; exempts certain warranties and service contracts from applicability of insurance laws; defines road hazards.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-09 - REFERRED TO INSURANCE [S08525 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S08525-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          8525
                    IN SENATE
                                       May 9, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  SEWARD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance
        AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to service contracts
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Section  7901 of the insurance law is amended by adding a
     2  new subsection (c) to read as follows:
     3    (c) The products listed in subsection (b) of this section  shall  also
     4  not  constitute insurance and shall not be subject to the insurance laws
     5  of this state except as made expressly applicable to them.
     6    § 2. Subsection (k) of section 7902 of the insurance law,  as  amended
     7  by  chapter  409  of  the  laws of 2012, is amended and a new subsection
     8  (j-1) is added to read as follows:
     9    (j-1) "Road hazard" means a hazard that is encountered while driving a
    10  motor vehicle and which may include, but not  be  limited  to  potholes,
    11  rocks,  wood  debris,  metal  parts, glass, plastic, curbs, or composite
    12  scraps.
    13    (k) "Service contract" means a contract or agreement, for  a  separate
    14  or  additional  consideration,  for  a  specific duration to perform the
    15  repair, replacement or maintenance of property, or  indemnification  for
    16  repair,  replacement  or  maintenance,  due  to a defect in materials or
    17  workmanship or wear and tear, with or without additional  provision  for
    18  indemnity  payments  for incidental damages, provided any such indemnity
    19  payment per incident shall not exceed the purchase price of the property
    20  serviced.  Service contracts may include towing,  rental  and  emergency
    21  road  service, and may also provide for the repair, replacement or main-
    22  tenance of property for damage resulting from  power  surges  and  acci-
    23  dental   damage  from  handling.  Service  contracts  may  also  include
    24  contracts to repair, replace  or  maintain  residential  appliances  and
    25  systems.  Such  term  shall  also mean a contract or agreement [made] to
    26  provide one or more of  the  following  services  (1)  [by  or  for  the
    27  manufacturer  or  seller of a motor vehicle tire for] repair or replace-
    28  ment of the tire or wheel as the result of damage arising  from  a  road
    29  hazard,  (2)  [by or for the supplier or seller of a service for] repair
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15858-01-8
        S. 8525                             2
     1  of chips or cracks in a motor  vehicle  windshield,  but  not  including
     2  services  that  involve  the replacement of the entire windshield, [and]
     3  (3) [by or for the supplier or  seller  of  a  service  for]  repair  or
     4  removal  of dents, dings or creases from a motor vehicle without affect-
     5  ing the existing paint finish using paintless  dent  repair  techniques,
     6  but  not including services that involve the replacement of vehicle body
     7  panels, or sanding, bonding or painting, (4) the replacement of a  motor
     8  vehicle  key  or  key-fob  in  the event that the key or key-fob becomes
     9  inoperable or is lost or stolen, and (5) other  services  which  may  be
    10  approved   by   the  superintendent,  if  not  inconsistent  with  other
    11  provisions of this article.
    12    § 3. Subsection (a) of section 7903 of the insurance law,  as  amended
    13  by chapter 409 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
    14    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contra-
    15  ry,  the marketing, sale, offering for sale, issuance, making, proposing
    16  to make and administration of service contracts by any provider,  admin-
    17  istrator  or  other person, shall be exempt from all other provisions of
    18  this chapter. A provider may, but is not required to, appoint an  admin-
    19  istrator  or  other  designee  to  be  responsible for any or all of the
    20  administration of service contracts and compliance  with  this  article.
    21  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of this article, a provider of a
    22  service contract, as defined in paragraphs two and three  of  subsection
    23  (k)  of  section seven thousand nine hundred two of this article, shall,
    24  at least thirty days prior to the effective date of an initial  provider
    25  fee,  or a change in a provider fee, file the amount of the provider fee
    26  with the  superintendent  and  such  filing  shall  be  open  to  public
    27  inspection; and provided further that the provider fee shall not exceed,
    28  but  may  be  less  than,  the amount filed. The requirement to file the
    29  amount of the provider fee with the superintendent  in  this  subsection
    30  shall  not  apply to fees set forth in any agreement to which an author-
    31  ized insurer is a party.
    32    § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    33  have become a law.