In this issue ...

• Bills Signed by the Governor
• First Department Decision Holds Litigation Funding Materials are Discoverable
• New York Court of Appeals Issues Decision on GEICO v. Mayzenberg
• Assembly Introduces Bill on the Use of Aerial Imaging
• Senate Introduces Bills on Residential Property Market
• Assembly Requests Feedback on Proposed Adjuster Conduct Bill
• NYSED Proposes Regulation on Personal Finance Education
• NAMIC Activates Grassroots for Federal Scaffold Law Bill
• NYCIRB Publishes Report on Lower Back Injuries

Bills Signed by the Governor
Governor Hochul recently signed two bills into law that are relevant to the property/casualty industry. The first, a NYIA priority bill, would modernize the free trade zone (FTZ) requirements and authorize insurers to use the FTZ regardless of whether the policy is underwritten and transacted within the state’s physical boundaries (A3888 Weprin/S4960 Bailey). The second would allow school districts and other education entities to bond for up to 30 years to pay CVA judgements and settlements (A7631 Lunsford/S6372 Mayer). For more information on these pieces of legislation, please see our most recent Enacted Law Bulletin. If you have any questions, please contact Bob Farley at bfarley@nyia.org.

First Department Decision Holds Litigation Funding Materials are Discoverable
The Appellate Division, First Department issued a decision last week which held that materials related to litigation funding are discoverable because they may reveal a financial motive for staging fraudulent accidents. Plaintiffs sued Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages LLC for injuries allegedly sustained in a motor vehicle accident. The case was complicated by allegations of systemic fraud involving staged accidents and questionable medical treatments. The appellate court affirmed the lower court’s decision to allow for further discovery, namely, third-party litigation funding (TPLF) agreements, given “unusual or unanticipated circumstances” like suspected fraud and connections to other staged accidents. This decision could set important precedents for greater transparency in TPLF agreements in New York, especially for cases being heard by the First Department.

New York Court of Appeals Issues Decision on GEICO v. Mayzenberg
The New York Court of Appeals Issued a Decision on GEICO v. Mayzenberg, ruling in favor of Mayzenberg. As a reminder, the legal question at issue was whether paying for patient referrals disqualifies a provider from receiving no-fault payments under the Eligibility Regulation (11 N.Y.C.R.R. § 65-3.16(a)(12)). NYIA along with partners APCIA, LRANY, and NAMIC submitted an amicus brief in favor of GEICO. In holding against GEICO, the 6-1 Court of Appeals conceded that “The question of how best to combat fraud in the no-fault insurance system implicates policy concerns best left to the legislature and DFS, not the Court” (page 15).  Chief Judge Wilson, the only to dissent indicated that DFS has not adequately combatted no-fault fraud (page 36) and thus more authority should be given to insurers to do so. While NYIA is disappointed with the decision, we believe it was important to provide the amicus and share our viewpoint. This is further exemplified by the amicus being referenced by the court in furtherance to at least some extent the validity of the arguments around fraud.

Assembly Introduces Bill on the Use of Aerial Imaging
NCOIL President and New York Assemblymember Pamela Hunter introduced legislation regarding insurers use of aerial imaging. The Assembly bill (A9272) is largely based on the NCOIL Model Act, but has some differences. First, The NCOIL Model allows insurers to provide copies of date-stamped images of the defect or a link to the pictures, however, the Assembly bill requires the hard copies only and does not give the option to provide a link. Second, the NCOIL model requires the insurer to provide specific standards that any repairs must adhere to, while the Assembly bill is silent. Lastly, the Assembly bill requires that the insurer notify the policyholder that the nonrenewal will be upheld if the defect was not adequately corrected, but the NCOIL makes no mention of notification. If you have any comments on the Assembly bill, please contact Staci Steinfeld, at ssteinfeld@nyia.org. Specifically NYIA is interested in providing answers to questions that were posed to the association:

• How many cancellations/nonrenewals are based on aerial images?
• How much more would it cost to automatically include the photos?
• Is there a distinction in retaining customers versus taking on new ones?
• Does the clock keep ticking while the policyholder requests the photos?

NYIA will continue to engage with the Assembly regarding this bill and will keep members informed of any developments.

Senate Introduces Bills on Residential Property Market
As mentioned on the last biweekly call, Senator Kavanagh, who led and organized the residential property market hearing last week, introduced S8583A, which would have severe ramifications on the industry. The bill would require expansive reporting to DFS including on catastrophe models and claims, require prior approval for some residential property insurance rates, and increase timeframes for cancellation and nonrenewal of insurance policies, generally. It would also mandate actuarily based discounts for mitigation, require carriers to publish available discounts on their website and, among other items, prohibit taking into account a property’s location in a “disadvantaged community” for rate determination and cancellation. NYIA is strongly opposed to the bill and has compiled an initial summary of the legislation. NYIA will continue to engage with the Senate and depict how this bill, among others, will only limit availability and impact affordability.

Assembly Requests Feedback on Proposed Adjuster Conduct Bill
As mentioned on the last bi-weekly call, the Assembly reached out to NYIA regarding a bill that would restrict adjusters from contacting residents within 24 hours after a residential fire. The proposal would bar adjusters from soliciting or approaching affected occupants during that period, establish reimbursement rights for anyone contacted in violation of the rule, and require written notice to residents outlining these protections. Following NYIA member feedback, the Assembly has agreed to change the proposal to only apply to public adjusters, to expand the bill to any damaging event and not just fire, to allow the bill to apply to commercial properties and not just residential, to have the bill be applicable to a public adjuster or their representative, to extend the time frame from 24 to 72 hours, and for the time frame to only apply once the event was reported to local authorities. If you have any further feedback on the revised version of the bill, please contact Staci at ssteinfeld@nyia.org by Friday, December 5.

NYSED Proposes Regulation on Personal Finance Education
The State Education Department (NYSED) proposed a regulation that would require public school students in grades K-12 to receive personal finance education. Though the proposed rule leaves the specific curriculum up to each school district, NYSED has stated their intention for this requirement to include risk management and insurance education. Several bills were introduced last session that would also mandate a personal finance requirement, but it is likely that the regulation will be adopted before any of those bills pass both houses. Public comments can be submitted to regcomments@nysed.gov until January 18. If you would like NYIA to comment on your behalf, please contact Staci at ssteinfeld@nyia.org by January 8. 

Grassroots Call to Action for Federal Scaffold Law Bill
NYIA is requesting members to weigh in with Congress in support of H.R. 3548, the Infrastructure Expansion Act, which would repeal New York’s scaffold law in federally funded projects and replace it with a comparative negligence standard. This call to action comes in response to a letter being circulated in the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee opposing inclusion of the proposal in the Highway Bill. NYIA is working with the Build More New York Coalition and NAMIC to circulate the call to action with members. If you have not already, please fill out the form to urge your representative to support this legislation.

NYCIRB Publishes Report on Lower Back Injuries
The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB) published their 2025 Report on Lower Back Injuries. The purpose of the report is to examine these injuries in the workers compensation system with a focus on the relationship between surgeries and different claim characteristics such as costs, claim closure, and other medical treatments. The report can also be found on the NYCIRB website.