What's happening
This bill removes the requirement for insurance advertisements to include the insurer's full name and principal office location.
Why it matters
Changes how insurance companies can advertise. By removing the requirement to list the insurer's full name and main office location in ads, insurers have more flexibility in their marketing materials, potentially making ads simpler or more focused on products and benefits.
Could impact consumer transparency. Without the mandated disclosure of the insurer's full name and location, consumers may have a harder time immediately identifying the exact company behind an advertisement, possibly making it more difficult to verify legitimacy or compare insurers.
Affects regulatory consistency. The bill updates cross-references and technical language in other insurance statutes to reflect this change, ensuring that the new advertising rules apply consistently to both authorized and certain unauthorized insurers operating through excess line brokers.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ease Insurance Ad Requirements
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to insurance
- Referred to insurance
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3523
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 8, 2019
Introduced by Sens. BRESLIN, SEWARD -- 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 removing the requirement for advertisements referring to an insurer to include the insurer's full name and principal office and making technical corrections related thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 2122 of the insurance law, the section heading and subsection (a) as amended by section 11 of part V of chapter 57 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
§ 2122. Advertising by insurance producers. (a) [(1)] No insurance producer shall make or issue in this state any advertisement, sign, pamphlet, circular, card or other public announcement purporting to make known the financial condition of any insurer, unless the same shall conform to the requirements of section one thousand three hundred thirteen of this chapter.
[(2)] (b) No insurance producer or other person, shall, by any advertisement or public announcement in this state, call attention to any unauthorized insurer or insurers.
[(b) Every agent of any insurer and every insurance broker shall, in all advertisements, public announcements, signs, pamphlets, circulars and cards, which refer to an insurer, set forth therein the name in full of the insurer referred to and the name of the city, town or village in which it has its principal office in the United States.]
§ 2. Paragraph 5 of subsection (b) of section 1101 of the insurance law, as added by chapter 597 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
(5) Notwithstanding the foregoing, an unauthorized insurer, which (A) is affiliated with an insurer licensed in this state, and (B) has satisfied all applicable requirements for placements by excess line brokers
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09662-01-9
S. 3523 2
as set forth in section two thousand one hundred eighteen of this chapter, may provide from an office within the state, services to support its insurance business. Such services shall not be deemed under this chapter as doing an insurance business in this state. For the purposes of this section these services include, but are not limited to, computer operations, clerical and staffing support, underwriting, negotiating contract terms, quoting premiums, binding coverage, drafting and issuing policies and claims handling, investigation and payment, among other incidental services. Such services shall not include the marketing, soliciting or advertising by the unauthorized insurer directly to policyholders. Notwithstanding [paragraph two of] subsection [(a)] (b) of section two thousand one hundred twenty-two of this chapter, such unauthorized insurers shall be permitted to advertise to, and market and solicit through, excess line brokers licensed pursuant to section two thousand one hundred five of this chapter. All obligations of such a licensee under article twenty-one of this chapter shall remain in full force and effect. Any document issued by the unauthorized insurer that indicates any location within this state in which it conducts its operations shall include a prominent notice that the insurer is not licensed by the state of New York, in no smaller than 10 point type, in accordance with regulations as may be promulgated by the superintendent.
§ 3. Subsection (i) of section 2117 of the insurance law, as added by chapter 597 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
(i) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a licensed insurer may provide, from its office in the state, services to support the insurance business of an unauthorized insurer with which it is affiliated, provided that the unauthorized insurer has satisfied all applicable requirements for placements by excess line brokers as set forth in section two thousand one hundred eighteen of this article. Such services may include, but shall not be limited to, computer operations, clerical and staffing support, underwriting, negotiating contract terms, quoting premiums, binding coverage, drafting and issuing policies and claims handling, investigation and payment, among other incidental services. Services expressly prohibited under this section include the marketing, soliciting or advertising by the unauthorized insurer directly to policyholders. Notwithstanding [paragraph two of] subsection [(a)] (b) of section two thousand one hundred twenty-two of this article, such unauthorized insurers shall be permitted to advertise to, and market and solicit through, excess line brokers licensed pursuant to section two thousand one hundred five of this article, from an office within the state. All obligations of such licensee under this article shall remain in full force and effect. Any document issued by an unauthorized insurer that indicates any location within this state in which it conducts its operations shall include a prominent notice that the insurer is not licensed by the state of New York, in no smaller than 10 point type, in accordance with regulations as may be promulgated by the superintendent.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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 removing the requirement for advertisements referring to an insurer to include the insurer's full name and principal office and making techni- cal corrections related thereto
Purpose
The bill would amend the insurance law by deleting the requirement for advertisements referring to an insurer to include the insurer's full name and principal office.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill deletes the requirement in Section 2122(h) of the Insurance Law for agents and brokers to display the insurer's full name and the name of the city, town or village of its principal office in advertisements that refer to an insurer.
Section 2 is the effective date.
Justification
The bill modernizes the Insurance Law by removing outdated, burdensome, and unnecessary requirements related to advertisements by insurance producers.
Section 1 removes an outdated provision of the Insurance Law requiring that when producers use advertisements that refer to an insurer, the advertisement must display the insurer's full name and the name of the city, town or village of the insurer's principal office. This outdated law serves no public policy purpose in today's modern society and is unnecessarily burdensome upon producers who must clutter phone book advertisements and internet web pages with meaningless text. The law may have been helpful to consumers in the days before widespread advertising on television and the internet. Today, the vast majority of consumers can identify insurers from company logos and other common names or abbreviations that may not necessarily encompass the insurer's full name. There is also no particular reason for advertisements to display the location of an insurer's principal office. Consumers are more concerned with the location of the company representative who will provide them with service.
Legislative history
S.2093 of 2017-18; S.2360 of 2015-16; S.3064 of 2013-14; S.6809 of 2011-12; S.7380 of 2009-2010
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.