What's happening
This bill prohibits insurers from using applicants' or insureds' credit history to make decisions about homeowners' insurance coverage or costs.
Why it matters
This bill would impact all homeowners across New York State. , especially those with poor, limited, or no credit history, by preventing insurers from using credit scores to set premiums or determine eligibility for coverage, potentially making insurance more accessible and affordable for vulnerable populations.
The legislation closes loopholes by banning not just direct use of credit history, but also indirect practices. , such as assigning customers to higher-risk tiers, changing payment plans, or offering/removing discounts based on credit information—ensuring insurers cannot use credit data in any part of the pricing or underwriting process.
By introducing these restrictions as an immediate change to insurance law, the bill represents a significant shift in how the homeowners insurance market operates in New York. , likely leading to increased transparency in rate-setting and reducing potential discrimination against those with lower socioeconomic status or recent immigrants with limited credit histories.
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Who cares
Homeowners and Home Insurance Applicants
Individuals seeking to purchase or renew homeowners’ insurance who may have poor, limited, or no credit history and are currently impacted by insurers’ use of credit information in pricing, underwriting, or eligibility decisions.
Insurance Companies
Insurers who currently use credit history as a factor in underwriting, pricing, or offering discounts/surcharges for homeowners’ insurance and would need to revise their risk assessment models and pricing strategies.
- Likely concerns
Consumer Advocacy Groups
Organizations focused on fair and equitable access to insurance who have raised concerns about the use of credit history as potentially discriminatory or unfairly penalizing certain populations.
Financial Services and Credit Reporting Industry
Companies involved in providing credit scores and reports, who may see reduced demand for their data from insurers as a result of this prohibition.
Headline styles
Ban Credit Checks for Home Insurance
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to insurance
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
11725
IN ASSEMBLY
September 16, 2026
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Rosenthal) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to prohibiting insurers from making decisions about the underwriting, cancellation, renewal or calculation of cost of homeowners' insurance based on the credit history of an applicant or an insured
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 2802-a to read as follows:
§ 2802-a. Use of credit information; homeowners' insurance. With respect to homeowners' insurance, an insurer shall not:
(a) refuse to underwrite, cancel, or refuse to renew a policy based wholly or partly on the credit history of an applicant or insured, including the absence of or inability to determine credit history;
(b) rate a risk based wholly or partly on the credit history of an applicant or insured, including the absence of or inability to determine credit history, in any manner, including:
(1) providing or removing a discount or imposing or removing a surcharge;
(2) assigning the insured or applicant to a tier; or
(3) placing an applicant or insured with an affiliated insurer; or
(c) require a particular payment plan based wholly or partly on the credit history of an applicant or insured, including the absence of or inability to determine credit history.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16324-02-6
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.