Bill Text: NY S03634 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Provides that a liability insurer may be sued for and the plaintiff may recover compensatory damages where the insurer failed to effectuate prompt and fair settlement of the claim and considered its interests to the detriment of the insured so as to cause the rendering of a judgment in excess of the policy limits.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO INSURANCE [S03634 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S03634-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         3634--B

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 11, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. BRESLIN, SEWARD, FELDER, GAUGHRAN -- read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Insurance  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said  committee  --  committee  discharged,
          bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said
          committee

        AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to maintaining an  action
          against  a liability insurer seeking compensatory damages in excess of
          the policy limits where such insurer failed to engage  in  prompt  and
          fair settlement of the claim

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

     1    Section 1.  Section 3420 of the insurance law is amended by  adding  a
     2  new subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
     3    (b-1)  An  action  may also be maintained by the persons identified in
     4  paragraphs one, two and three of subsection (b) of this section  against
     5  the insurer to recover damages including compensatory damages and inter-
     6  est  measured  from  the  time of failure to offer a fair and reasonable
     7  settlement in accordance with this section, from  such  insurer  to  the
     8  full  extent  of  the  judgment  against the insured, not limited to the
     9  policy limits and not subject to the limitations and conditions of para-
    10  graph two of subsection (a) of this section, where  a  preponderance  of
    11  the  evidence establishes that the insurer failed to effectuate a prompt
    12  and fair settlement of a claim or any portion thereof, and  where  under
    13  the  totality  of  the facts and circumstances related to the claim, the
    14  insurer failed to reasonably accord at least  equal  or  more  favorable
    15  consideration to its insured's interests as it did to its own interests,
    16  and  thereby  exposed  the insured to a judgment in excess of the policy
    17  limits.
    18    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00917-05-9
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