Bill Text: NY A04813 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for the establishment of residential home safety and loss prevention courses certified by the superintendent of financial services; requires insurers to provide actuarially appropriate discounts on fire and homeowners insurance premiums to those homeowners who have completed a residential home safety and loss prevention course; directs the superintendent of financial services to promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement such program and specifies certain matters which must be included in such rules and regulations; requires the superintendent of financial services to issue a report thereon.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to insurance [A04813 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A04813-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4813 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 5, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. COLTON, PALMESANO, PERRY, BARRON, COOK, L. ROSEN- THAL, D'URSO, M. G. MILLER, ENGLEBRIGHT, ORTIZ, SANTABARBARA, HYNDMAN, RIVERA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Insurance AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to establishing residen- tial home safety and loss prevention courses and providing for an associated reduction in certain insurance premiums and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2346 of the insurance law is amended by adding a 2 new subsection 6 to read as follows: 3 6. The superintendent shall provide for an actuarially appropriate 4 reduction in the rates of fire insurance premiums or homeowners insur- 5 ance premiums applicable to residential real property for any insured 6 for a three year period after successfully completing a residential home 7 safety and loss prevention course certified pursuant to section two 8 thousand three hundred forty-six-b of this article. 9 § 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 2346-b to 10 read as follows: 11 § 2346-b. Certification of residential home safety and loss prevention 12 courses. (a) The department, in consultation with the office of fire 13 prevention and control of the division of homeland security and emergen- 14 cy services and any additional state entity it deems appropriate, shall 15 certify all residential home safety and loss prevention courses that are 16 authorized to offer classes through which the insured shall be eligible 17 to receive an insurance premium reduction pursuant to subsection six of 18 section two thousand three hundred forty-six of this article. 19 (b) For the purposes of this section: 20 (1) "residential home safety and loss prevention course" or "course" 21 shall mean an instructional program that presents information and meth- 22 ods that can help an insured to significantly prevent or minimize EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03903-01-9A. 4813 2 1 personal injuries and property losses in residential real property due 2 to the occurrence of fire, theft, burglary, accidents and weather 3 related events, including, but not limited to, how to mitigate property 4 damage from hurricanes, ice storms, tornadoes and other natural disas- 5 ters; and 6 (2) "course sponsor" shall mean any individual, company or organiza- 7 tion that has developed or owns a residential home safety and loss 8 prevention course and all agents of such sponsor including independent 9 contractors that conduct classes for such sponsor and class instructors. 10 (c) The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are 11 necessary to implement the provisions of this section. Such rules shall, 12 at a minimum, provide for: 13 (1) course sponsor application procedures that an applicant shall 14 follow to obtain course certification approval; 15 (2) curriculum standards that the course sponsors and instructors 16 shall utilize, based upon submissions from any course sponsor as defined 17 in paragraph two of subsection (b) of this section, including teaching 18 methods and time requirements which shall be in excess of three hours; 19 (3) standards, based upon submissions from any course sponsor as 20 defined in paragraph two of subsection (b) of this section, that course 21 sponsors shall satisfy to ensure that class instructors are adequately 22 trained; 23 (4) a demonstration by the course sponsor that successfully completing 24 such course will significantly reduce fire, theft, liability and weather 25 related losses in the residence; 26 (5) standards, based upon submissions from any course sponsor as 27 defined in paragraph two of subsection (b) of this section, to ensure 28 that individuals that complete such course shall receive certificates 29 that can be submitted to an insurer to demonstrate successful completion 30 of the class. Such certificates of completion shall be tamper proof and 31 designed so that they can not be fraudulently reproduced or forged by an 32 unauthorized issuer; and 33 (6) procedures for on-going surveillance of course presentation and 34 administration to ensure that the insurance premium reduction awarded 35 is, and continues to be, proportionally related to the actuarially 36 calculable decrease in losses attributable to the course. 37 (d) The department is authorized to suspend or revoke the certificate 38 of approval of any course sponsor if the department determines that such 39 sponsor has violated the provisions of this section or has misrepre- 40 sented information on the initial application or in periodic reports 41 submitted to the department. 42 (e) The department may increase or decrease the insurance premium 43 discount awarded to such course if it is found that such discount is not 44 actuarially appropriate. 45 § 3. Not less than 180 days before the expiration of the provision of 46 this act, the superintendent of financial services shall issue a report 47 to the governor, temporary president of the senate, speaker of the 48 assembly, and the chairs of the committees on insurance of the senate 49 and assembly stating his or her findings on the effect of residential 50 home safety and loss prevention courses in reducing homeowners insurance 51 claims. 52 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 53 it shall have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed 5 54 years after such effective date; provided, however, any rules or regu- 55 lations necessary for the timely implementation of the provisions of 56 this act shall be promulgated on or before such date.
