What's happening
This bill requires insurers issuing replacement life insurance or annuity contracts to offer a 60-day unconditional full refund period.
Why it matters
Expands consumer protection. The bill gives policyholders who replace their life insurance or annuity contracts a much longer window—60 days—to reconsider and receive a full, unconditional refund, which helps protect people from hasty or pressured decisions.
Reduces financial risk. By guaranteeing a full refund of all premiums or considerations paid, the law minimizes potential losses for consumers who may realize after purchase that the replacement policy or contract does not suit their needs.
Clarifies timing and transparency. The bill requires insurers to clearly state whether the 60-day period is measured in calendar days or business days, reducing confusion and the chance for disputes over deadlines.
Applies to all new and modified contracts. This change affects not just new policies but also those that are renewed, altered, or amended after the law takes effect, broadening its impact and ensuring ongoing consumer protection.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Clarify Insurance Day Counts
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to insurance
- Referred to insurance
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4410
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 14, 2017
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- 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 certain life insurance policies and annuities contracts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 3203 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new paragraph 18 to read as follows:
(18) any insurer who issues a replacement life insurance policy or annuity contract shall provide to the policy or contract owner the right to return the policy or contract within sixty days from the date of delivery of such policy or contract and receive an unconditional full refund of all premiums or considerations paid on it. The insurer shall specify whether the term "days" refers to calendar days as defined in section nineteen of the general construction law and as computed by section twenty of the general construction law or business days, Monday through Friday of any given week. Where such term is not specified, the term "days" shall mean business days, Monday through Friday of any given week.
§ 2. The superintendent of financial services shall promulgate any and all rules or regulations and take any other measures necessary to implement this act on its effective date on or before such date.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law and shall apply to all insurance policies, contracts and plans issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01222-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to certain life insurance policies and annuities contracts
Purpose
To require insurers to specify either calendar days or business days in certain policies.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of this bill amends subsection (a) of section 3203 of the insurance law by adding a new paragraph 18, which states that any insurer who issues a replacement life insurance policy or annuity contract shall provide to the policy or contract owner the right to return the policy or contract within sixty days from the date of delivery of such policy or contract and receive an unconditional full refund of all premiums or considerations paid on it. It further states that the insurer shall specify whether the term "days" refers to calendar days as defined in section 19 of the general construction law and as computed by section 20 of the general construction law or business days and where such term is not specified, the term "days" shall mean business days, Monday through Friday of any given week.
Section 2 of this bill states that the superintendent of financial services shall promulgate any and all rules or regulations and take any other measures necessary to implement this act on its effective date on or before such date.
Section 3 of this bill states that this act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become law and shall apply to all insurance policies, contracts and plans, issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such effective date.
Justification
Currently an insurer must provide notice to contract or policy owners that he or she has 60 days to return a replacement life insurance policy or annuity contract. However, in that notice there is no specification of whether the 60 days are calculated as calendar days or business days. This has led to confusion for consumers of such policies, causing them to miss deadlines. To avoid confusion in the future, these notices should be explicitly clear on how that 60-day period will be calculated. For notices that do not state such information, the longer period (i.e. business days) should be assumed.
This bill would require insurers to specify to contract or policy owners whether the 60 days will be calculated by calendar or business days, and where not specified, business days shall be used.
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become law and shall apply to all insurance policies, contracts and plans, issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such effective date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.