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Who cares
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Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Print number 4614a
- Amend and recommit to insurance
- Referred to insurance
- Referred to insurance
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Makes comprehensive motor vehicle insurance reparations (no-fault insurance) applicable to motorcycles
In Assembly Committee · Insurance · Sponsor Felix Ortiz
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to making comprehensive motor vehicle insurance reparations applicable to motorcycles
Purpose
This bill makes comprehensive motor vehicle insurance reparations (no-fault insurance) applicable to motorcycles.
Summary of provisions
The bill amends subsection (f) of section 5102 of the insurance law to include motorcycles in the definition of "motor vehicles." The bill makes conforming changes to subsections (a) and (f) of section 5103 of the insurance law, as amended by chapter 402 of the laws of 1986, and subsections (a) and (b) of section 5104 of the insurance law to remove the exclusion of motorcycles from the comprehensive and no fault insurance sections.
Justification
The motorcyclist exclusion from comprehensive motor vehicle insurance, No Fault insurance, unfairly excludes one class of road user from an otherwise universal benefit. Motorcyclists are required to purchase and carry comprehensive motor vehicle insurance, but they are excluded from all No Fault benefits, including medical coverage for injuries suffered as a result of an accident, and payment of lost wages. Like other road users, motorcyclists may be temporarily unable to work as a result of an accident. No Fault insurance covers medical bills up to $50,000, as well as lost wages up to $2,000 a week, for all road users except motorcyclists, including pedestrians and bicyclists. An injured motorcyclist who cannot work, whose lost wages are not being reimbursed as they are for every other road user, may also face large medical bills as a result of the injury. This is a financial hardship to which only motorcyclists are exposed as a result of their exclusion from No Fault benefits.
Because of the motorcyclist exclusion from No Fault benefits, a motorcyclist injured in an accident is forced to seek redress in court, which may take years to resolve. This subjects motorcyclists to court costs and lawyer's fees not incurred by other motorists, while overburdening the court system.
Furthermore, the motorcyclist exclusion is not well known or understood by health care or medical insurance providers. Many injured motorcyclists have been unfairly billed when their medical insurance companies reject claims in the mistaken belief that the bill for the motor vehicle accident should have been paid by the rider's comprehensive motor vehicle insurance.
Legislative history
2015: A8420 - Referred to Insurance/ S4614 Referred to Insurance 2014: A6055 - Referred to Insurance/ S3629 Referred to Insurance 2012: A9289 - Referred to Insurance/ S6359 Referred to Insurance
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
January 1, 2018
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.