What's happening
This bill repeals the insurance law requiring anti-arson applications and related regulations in New York.
Why it matters
Eliminating the anti-arson application requirement could streamline the property insurance process. homeowners and property owners would no longer need to file special forms to obtain insurance in certain high-risk (arson-prone) areas, potentially reducing paperwork and administrative delays.
The repeal may impact fraud prevention and arson deterrence efforts. the anti-arson application was originally intended to help identify and reduce insurance fraud and intentional fires, so its removal could change how authorities monitor and prevent arson-related crimes.
Insurance markets and premiums could be affected, especially in urban areas. without the statutory requirement for anti-arson applications, insurers may shift how they assess risk or price policies for properties in historically high-arson neighborhoods, possibly leading to changes in availability or cost of coverage.
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Who cares
Headline styles
End Anti-Arson Applications
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to insurance
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.466
- 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.
End Anti-Arson Applications
In Senate Committee · Rules · Sponsor Daniel Rosenthal
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5126
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 10, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance
AN ACT to repeal certain provisions of the insurance law relating to anti-arson applications
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 3403 of the insurance law is REPEALED.
§ 2. The superintendent of financial services shall repeal all rules and regulations which implement the provisions of section 3403 of the insurance law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01078-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to repeal certain provisions of the insurance law relating to anti-arson applications
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to repeal section 3403 of the insurance law and its accompanying regulations.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 - Repeals section 3403 of the insurance law
Section 2- Directs Superintendent of Department of Financial services to repeal all rules and regulations which implement section 340 3 of insur- ance law
Section 3- Establishes the effective date
Justification
In 1981 when New York first enacted its anti-arson application law
(originally section 168-j of the insurance law, now section 3403), arson for profit was a significant economic and societal problem. New York's anti-arson application law was enacted to give insurers ownership and property valuation information to assist in the investigation of arson for profit and to require property owners to sign a fraud statement. However, present-day arson investigation techniques no longer rely on the anti-arson application form to determine ownership and property valuation and fraud statements are collected through other means when adjusting a loss. Insurers have access to a multitude of third-party sources to determine ownership and property values. Since the informa- tion collected on the form is no longer used, completing and collecting the form (which is required for both new and renewed insurance poli- cies)creates a significant burden for both consumers and insurers. Consumers suffer because completing the form is burdensome and insurance carriers must cancel in force policies when the form is not returned, which means that the policyholder may be without coverage. Furthermore, consumers hear the ultimate administrative cost of having insurers rein- state policies that have been cancelled when they fail to renew the anti-arson application. Insurers are burdened by the inordinate amount of time spent tracking down the anti-arson application from property owners. Recognizing that the reason that this law was originally enacted no longer exists, both Rochester and Buffalo repealed the law in recent years.
Prior legislative history
2017: A9707-Referred to Insurance
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.