Bill Text: NY A08871 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires third-party food delivery services maintain insurance through a group policy that covers bodily injury or death arising out of or resulting from qualifying accidents involving a delivery person.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-25 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A08871 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08871-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8871

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 25, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. CARROLL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Consumer Affairs and Protection

        AN ACT to amend the general  business  law,  in  relation  to  requiring
          third-party  food delivery services maintain insurance through a group
          policy that covers bodily injury or death arising out of or  resulting
          from qualifying accidents involving a delivery person

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

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1  of  section  391-v  of  the
     2  general  business  law,  as added by chapter 693 of the laws of 2021, is
     3  amended and three new paragraphs (e), (f), and (g) are added to read  as
     4  follows:
     5    (d)  "Third-party  food  delivery platform" means the online or mobile
     6  platform of the third-party food delivery service on  which  a  consumer
     7  can  view  products  available  for  sale  and place an order for a food
     8  service establishment's products or  on  which  a  delivery  driver  can
     9  accept and facilitate orders.
    10    (e) "Delivery driver" means any individual who conveys products from a
    11  food service establishment to a customer on behalf of a third-party food
    12  delivery  service. For the purposes of this paragraph, multiple delivery
    13  drivers who share one account with a third-party food  delivery  service
    14  shall each qualify as a delivery driver.
    15    (f)  "Qualifying  accident"  means  a  vehicular  accident involving a
    16  delivery driver that occurs while the delivery driver is logged  into  a
    17  third-party food delivery platform and working on behalf of a third-par-
    18  ty food delivery service.
    19    (g) "Qualifying vehicle" means any two or three-wheeled vehicle, other
    20  than  a  motorcycle  that  carries  its  own liability insurance per the
    21  requirements of article six of the vehicle and traffic law, at the  time
    22  of the qualifying accident.
    23    §  2. Section 391-v of the general business law is amended by adding a
    24  new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
    25    3. Each third-party food delivery  service  shall  maintain  insurance
    26  through a group policy that covers bodily injury or death arising out of

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13846-01-3

        A. 8871                             2

     1  or  resulting  from  qualifying  accidents  involving  a delivery person
     2  subject to the following provisions:
     3    (a)  Benefits  shall  be  limited  to  only those qualifying accidents
     4  involving delivery persons who are operating a qualifying vehicle.
     5    (b) Benefits shall be limited to payments for basic economic losses up
     6  to fifty thousand dollars per person. For  the  purpose  of  determining
     7  basic  economic loss, qualifying expenses shall be determined in accord-
     8  ance with the definitions and limitations of section five  thousand  one
     9  hundred two of the insurance law.
    10    (c)  The  policy  of liability insurance maintained by the third-party
    11  food delivery service in accordance with this section shall provide  for
    12  the  payment  on benefits for qualifying accidents to all persons, other
    13  than those explicitly excluded in this subdivision, for loss arising out
    14  of the use or operation of a qualifying vehicle by a delivery driver  in
    15  New  York.  Persons  eligible  for  benefits  shall include, but are not
    16  limited to:  (i) delivery drivers; (ii) pedestrians; and (iii)  cyclists
    17  who  are  not  delivery  drivers  who  experience basic economic loss in
    18  accordance with the provisions of paragraph  (b)  of  this  subdivision.
    19  Persons  shall  be eligible for benefits irrespective of state residency
    20  or citizenship status so long as the qualifying accident occurs  in  New
    21  York.  The  payment of benefits shall be awarded irrespective of who was
    22  at fault, liable, or responsible for the qualifying accident.  Occupants
    23  of  a  motor  vehicle and occupants of a motorcycle that carries its own
    24  liability insurance per the requirements of article six of  the  vehicle
    25  and traffic law shall not be eligible for benefits.
    26    (d)  An insurer may exclude from coverage required by this section the
    27  following individuals:
    28    (i) a delivery driver who intentionally causes his own injury  or  who
    29  is  injured  as  a  result  of  exhibiting dangerous conduct while in an
    30  intoxicated condition or while impaired by the use of a drug, or
    31    (ii) any other person who intentionally causes his own injury  or  who
    32  is  injured  as  a  result  of  exhibiting dangerous conduct while in an
    33  intoxicated condition or while impaired by the use of a drug.
    34    (e) Insurance maintained by any third-party food delivery  service  to
    35  satisfy  the  requirements  of  this  section shall be offered without a
    36  deductible. A third-party food delivery service may  maintain  insurance
    37  to satisfy the requirements of this section through a third-party insur-
    38  er, so long as the requirements of this section are met.
    39    (f)  Insurance  offered  by  any  third-party food delivery service to
    40  satisfy the requirements of this section shall be primary to any  health
    41  insurance  policies that would otherwise cover the basic economic losses
    42  defined in this section.
    43    (g) A delivery driver shall receive benefits in accordance  with  this
    44  section  irrespective  of  the  delivery  driver's immigration status or
    45  status as an independent contractor. A delivery driver interfacing  with
    46  a third-party food delivery service at the time of a qualifying accident
    47  shall  receive  benefits in accordance with this section irrespective of
    48  whether the delivery driver's vehicle is  in  compliance  with  federal,
    49  state, or local requirements, including registration requirements.
    50    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    51  it shall have become a law.
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