In this issue ...

• Bills Delivered to the Governor – Opportunity to Weigh In
• LRANY Leads Grassroots Efforts for Disclosure of Litigation Funding
• Governor Vetoes Wrongful Death Expansion and Workers Compensation Bills
• Assembly Hearing on Artificial Intelligence and Insurance
• DFS Proposes Rule Repealing Anti-Arson Application Regulations
• Governor Announces 2026 State of the State Address
• Legislature Publishes 2026 Session Calendar
• NYIA Drafts Legislation on Assignment of Benefits in Property Rehabilitation
• NYCIRB Releases Evaluation of Third-Party Recovery Bill
• DFS Hires New Deputy Superintendent for Property Division
• Senate Insurance Committee Director
• Governor Appoints Director of State Operations

Bills Delivered to the Governor – Opportunity to Weigh In
All the bills that were passed by both houses that NYIA is tracking were delivered to the Governor. Several of the bills relate to litigation expansion, which NYIA opposes. NYIA has already submitted our comment letters to the Governor and met with the Governor’s office. The Governor has until December 19 to act on these pieces of legislation, with the exception of the training and use of AI frontier models (S6953B Gounardes) which must be acted on by December 20. We encourage company personnel and others in your grassroots network to also weigh in against the legislation that would expand litigation. You can write to the Governor using this electronic message platform.

The list includes several bills NYIA opposes:

• Health Information Privacy Act (S929 Krueger)
• Unfair, Deceptive and Abuse Acts and Practices expansion legislation (S8416 Comrie)
• Third Party Recovery (S5170 Skoufis)
• Impleading to Delay (S8071A Addabbo)
• Tort Thirty Day Settlement (S8185 Salazar)
• Consent to Jurisdiction (A8303 Lunsford)
• Liberal Construction of the Labor Law (S7388 Ramos)
• Classification for Permanent Total Disability under Workers Compensation (A2748 Bronson)

There were also two bills NYIA supports:

• New York Travel Insurance Act (S5304 Bailey)
• Standards for Auto Glass Repair (A6943B Hunter)

NYIA has requested amendments on the following bill to require the disclosure of funding agreements in the discovery process:

• Consumer Litigation Funding Act (A804C Magnarelli)  

NYIA is also tracking the following bills that we have not taken a position on:

• AI disclosure (S8420A Gianaris) – the Business Council has weighed in on this bill
• Prohibiting Dog Breed Discrimination for Renters Insurance (S364 Gianaris)
• Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing (S5941B Skoufis)
• Battery Recycling (S73A Kavanagh)
• Training and use of AI frontier models (S6953B Gounardes).

LRANY Leads Grassroots Efforts for Disclosure of Litigation Funding
The Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY) is leading a grassroots efforts to urge Governor Hochul to amend the Consumer Litigation Funding Act (A804C) to include transparency measures. The amendments would require that litigation funding contracts be disclosed during the discovery process. If you have not already, please fill out this form to contact the Governor’s Office. NYIA has weighed in with our support of the bill, while requesting the Governor to sign the bill with chapter amendments to allow for the necessary transparency during discovery.

Governor Vetoes Wrongful Death Expansion and Workers Compensation Bills
On Friday, several bills that NYIA opposes were vetoed by the Governor, namely, the wrongful death expansion legislation (S4423 Hoylman-Sigal), legislation that would allow workers compensation claimants to use out of network pharmacies in certain instances (S4926 Ramos), and legislation that would create a workers compensation fraud assessment (S7950A Bailey). Importantly, the first two pieces of legislation have been vetoed in the past. The Governor specifically referenced the impact on insurance in her veto message on the wrongful death expansion bill. NYIA has weighed in with the Governor’s office on these bills and is encouraged to see legislation not be signed that would have a negative impact on the property and casualty market.

Assembly Hearing on Artificial Intelligence and Insurance
The New York State Assembly has just publicly announced that they are holding a hearing next Tuesday, December 16 on the Use of Artificial Intelligence System in the Underwriting and Pricing of Insurance Policies. The hearing is being hosted jointly by the Insurance Committee and Science and Technology Committee with the stated purpose “to examine how insurers in New York State are using artificial intelligence systems to underwrite and price insurance policies.” The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. with oral testimony being by invitation only. NYIA was invited to testify and is currently determining the best approach.

DFS Proposes Rule Repealing Anti-Arson Application Regulations
The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has proposed a rule to repeal 11 NYCRR 62-4 (Regulations 21 and 96), which relates to the anti-arson application. The proposed regulation comes in response to A112 (Berger) being signed Chapter 439 of the Laws of 2025, which repealed the anti-arson application, a NYIA priority initiative. As a reminder, the law took effect immediately. Public comments on the proposed rule can be submitted to Sally.Geisel@dfs.ny.gov, until February 8, 2026. If you would like NYIA to submit comments on your behalf, please contact Staci Steinfeld at ssteinfeld@nyia.org by January 27.

Governor Announces 2026 State of the State Address
Governor Hochul announced that the 2026 State of the State Address will be delivered on Tuesday, January 13 at 1:00 p.m. The address marks the beginning of budget season and focuses on the Governor’s priorities for the next fiscal year. NYIA will be monitoring the speech closely and will notify members of any developments.

Legislature Releases 2026 Session Calendar
The Legislature published the 2026 legislative session calendar, which provides the dates that the Senate and Assembly will convene to host committee meetings and vote on bills. In accordance with the calendar, the legislative session is scheduled to begin on January 7 and conclude on June 4.

NYIA Drafts Legislation on Assignment of Benefits in Property Rehabilitation
Following member feedback and a newly added item to NYIA’s legislative agenda, NYIA has drafted legislation to combat loss mitigation scams in home repair contracts, including in relation to disaster restoration for properties affected by fire, smoke, mold and water. The draft bill would prohibit contractors from using assignment of benefit agreements in home rehabilitation contracts and praying on consumers by charging excessive and unnecessary fees. NYIA will be seeking sponsors in the Assembly and Senate to introduce the legislation in the new year. If you or your company has any comments on the draft language, please contact Bob Farley at bfarley@nyia.org by Wednesday, December 31.

NYCIRB Releases Evaluation of Third-Party Recovery Bill
The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB) has released their evaluation of the third-party recovery bill (S5170 Skoufis). The bill passed both houses and was delivered to the Governor on Monday, as mentioned above. It would allow a plaintiff to recover on a judgment for contribution or indemnification directly against a third-party defendant when the defendant/third-party plaintiff fails to satisfy the underlying judgment for which contribution or indemnification is sought 30 days after it has been served. NYCIRB estimates that workers compensation insured loss costs would increase by three percent if the bill was enacted, with some classification codes bearing more of the cost burden. NYIA opposes this bill and has weighed in with the Governor’s office with our concerns.

DFS Hires New Deputy Superintendent for Property Division
DFS has filled the position for deputy superintendent of the property division. John Martini assumed the position in November and has previously spent 30 years as Genarali’s general manager. NYIA is engaging with the new deputy superintendent and looks forward to partnering with the property bureau to enhance the state’s market.

Senate Insurance Committee Director
Evan Schneider, longtime key staff member to Senator Neil Breslin, is coming back to the Senate. He will once again serve in his previous role as committee director to the Senate Insurance Committee. He will also be Senator Jamaal Bailey’s legislative director. Most recently, Evan served in the insurance division of DFS as assistant deputy superintendent. NYIA looks forward to continuing to work with Evan.

Governor Appoints Director of State Operations
Governor Hochul announced that she will name Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Operations Commissioner Jackie Bray as the new director of state operations. Bray has served in her role as commissioner for four years and previously worked at the NYC Mayor’s office.