Bill Text: NY S08340 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mandates transparency of the expenses of title insurance corporations, including marketing expenses, lobbying expenses, salaries and other forms of compensation and authorizes the department of financial services to lower title insurance rates if deemed excessive.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-15 - REFERRED TO INSURANCE [S08340 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S08340-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8340

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 15, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  BIAGGI -- 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 mandating transparency
          of the expenses of title insurance corporations  and  authorizing  the
          department of financial services to lower title insurance rates

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

     1    Section 1. Section 6403 of the insurance law is amended  by  adding  a
     2  new subsection (d) to read as follows:
     3    (d)  (1)  On or before April first of each year, every title insurance
     4  corporation shall, for the prior calendar year, provide the  superinten-
     5  dent  and  the  public with a detailed financial statement to supplement
     6  and expand upon any other information otherwise provided to the  depart-
     7  ment  as it relates to such title insurance corporation's expenses. Such
     8  expenses shall include, but  not  be  limited  to,  marketing  expenses,
     9  lobbying  expenses,  salaries  of  employees, and any other expenses and
    10  forms of compensation.
    11    (2) The superintendent shall, in both written form and as part of  the
    12  department's  website,  make  such financial statements available to the
    13  public. No person shall be required to file a request for such financial
    14  statements pursuant to article six of the public officers law  in  order
    15  to  receive  a copy thereof, but upon request and payment of the fee for
    16  copying such document, it shall be provided in  a  timely  manner.  With
    17  respect to the electronic copy of such financial statements, which shall
    18  be  accessible  on  the department's website, the department shall high-
    19  light the availability of such information to the public on such website
    20  and the link to each title insurance corporation's  financial  statement
    21  shall be accessible in a simple and easy manner.
    22    (3) The superintendent may promulgate such rules and regulations he or
    23  she  deems  necessary for the proper administration of the provisions of
    24  this section, and such rules and regulations may be  promulgated  on  an
    25  emergency  basis if the superintendent warrants such action to be neces-
    26  sary.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15495-01-0
        S. 8340                             2

     1    § 2. Subsection (b) of section 2321 of the insurance law is amended by
     2  adding a new paragraph 3 to read as follows:
     3    (3)  Notwithstanding paragraphs one and two of this subsection, if the
     4  superintendent finds any title insurance rate filing  to  be  excessive,
     5  the superintendent may order the filing withdrawn and the rate suspended
     6  prospectively upon fifteen days prior written notice to the rate service
     7  organization  or  to  the  insurer  which filed them. The superintendent
     8  shall determine an adjusted, lower rate deemed to be in compliance  with
     9  the  standards  set  forth  in  this article, and the rate so determined
    10  shall apply.
    11    § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    12  ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.