The New York State Senate

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  1620

                       2017-2018 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 12, 2017
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Labor

AN  ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to providing
  conditional renewal notices to policyholders

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  5 of section 54 of the workers' compensation
law, as amended by section 23 of part GG of chapter 57 of  the  laws  of
2013, is amended to read as follows:
  5.  (A)  Cancellation  and  termination  of  insurance  contracts.  No
contract of insurance issued by an insurance carrier  against  liability
arising under this chapter shall be cancelled within the time limited in
such  contract  for its expiration unless notice is given as required by
this section.  When cancellation is due to non-payment of  premiums  and
assessments, such cancellation shall not be effective until at least ten
days  after  a notice of cancellation of such contract, on a date speci-
fied in such notice, shall be filed in the office of the chair and  also
served  on  the  employer.  When cancellation is due to any reason other
than non-payment of premiums and assessments,  such  cancellation  shall
not  be effective until at least thirty days after a notice of cancella-
tion of such contract, on a date specified  in  such  notice,  shall  be
filed  in  the  office  of  the  chair  and also served on the employer;
provided, however, in either case, that  if  the  employer  has  secured
insurance  with  another insurance carrier which becomes effective prior
to the expiration of the time stated in such  notice,  the  cancellation
shall  be  effective  as  of the date of such other coverage. No insurer
shall refuse to renew any  policy  insuring  against  liability  arising
under  this  chapter unless at least thirty days prior to its expiration
notice of intention not to renew has been filed in  the  office  of  the
chair and also served on the employer.
  Such  notice  shall be served on the employer by delivering it to him,
her or it or by sending it by mail, by certified or  registered  letter,
return  receipt  requested, addressed to the employer at his, her or its
last known place of business; provided that, if the employer be a  part-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02654-01-7

A. 1620                             2

nership, then such notice may be so given to any of one of the partners,
and if the employer be a corporation then the notice may be given to any
agent  or  officer  of  the  corporation  upon whom legal process may be
served;  and  further provided that an employer may designate any person
or entity at any address to receive such  notice  including  the  desig-
nation  of  one person or entity to receive notice on behalf of multiple
entities insured under one insurance policy and that service  of  notice
at  the address so designated upon the person or entity so designated by
delivery or by mail, by certified or registered letter,  return  receipt
requested,  shall  satisfy  the  notice  requirement  of  this  section.
Provided, however, the right to cancellation of a policy of insurance in
the state fund shall be exercised only for non-payment of  premiums  and
assessments or as provided in section ninety-four of this chapter.
  The  provisions  of  this  subdivision shall not apply with respect to
policies containing coverage pursuant to subsection (j) of section three
thousand four hundred twenty of the  insurance  law  relating  to  every
policy  providing  comprehensive  personal liability insurance on a one,
two, three or four family owner-occupied dwelling.
  In the event such cancellation or termination notice is not filed with
the chair within the required time period,  the  chair  shall  impose  a
penalty  in  the  amount  of up to five hundred dollars for each ten-day
period the insurance carrier or state insurance fund failed to file  the
notification. All penalties collected pursuant to this subdivision shall
be deposited in the uninsured employers' fund.
  (B)  CONDITIONAL RENEWAL. A CONTRACT OF INSURANCE SHALL REMAIN IN FULL
FORCE AND EFFECT SUBJECT TO THE SAME TERMS  AND  CONDITIONS,  LOSS  COST
MULTIPLIERS  AND  CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  EMPLOYER  WITH  REGARD TO THE
PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS, PURSUANT TO SECTIONS FOUR THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED SIX
AND FOUR THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED FOURTEEN  OF  THE  INSURANCE  LAW,  UNLESS
WRITTEN  NOTICE  IS  MAILED OR DELIVERED BY THE INSURANCE CARRIER TO THE
EMPLOYER, AT THE ADDRESS SHOWN ON THE POLICY,  AND  TO  SUCH  EMPLOYER'S
AUTHORIZED AGENT OR BROKER, INDICATING THE INSURANCE CARRIER'S INTENTION
TO  CONDITION RENEWAL UPON ISSUANCE OF A POLICY THAT SUPERSEDES A POLICY
PREVIOUSLY ISSUED BY ANOTHER INSURANCE CARRIER UNDER COMMON CONTROL THAT
WILL RESULT IN AN INCREASED PREMIUM IN EXCESS OF TEN PERCENT  (EXCLUSIVE
OF  ANY  PREMIUM  INCREASE GENERATED AS A RESULT OF INCREASED LOSS COSTS
FILED AND APPROVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH  SUBSECTION  (E)  OF  SECTION  TWO
THOUSAND  THREE  HUNDRED  FIVE  OF THE INSURANCE LAW, INCREASED EXPOSURE
UNITS, OR AS A RESULT OF EXPERIENCE RATING, CONTRACTOR CREDIT ADJUSTMENT
PROGRAM, DRUG FREE CREDIT, MERIT  RATING,  MANAGED  CARE  CREDIT,  LARGE
DEDUCTIBLE,  RETROSPECTIVE RATING OR AUDIT). SUCH NOTICE SHALL BE MAILED
OR DELIVERED AT LEAST THIRTY DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THE EXPIRATION  DATE  OF
THE  POLICY, AND SHALL SET FORTH THE AMOUNT OF THE PREMIUM INCREASE (OR,
WHERE SUCH AMOUNT CANNOT REASONABLY BE DETERMINED AS  OF  THE  TIME  THE
NOTICE  IS PROVIDED, A REASONABLE ESTIMATE OF THE PREMIUM INCREASE BASED
UPON THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE INSURANCE CARRIER AT  THAT  TIME).
NOTHING  IN  THIS  SUBDIVISION  WILL  REQUIRE  THE  INSURANCE CARRIER TO
PROVIDE SUCH NOTICE WHEN THE EMPLOYER, AN AGENT OR BROKER AUTHORIZED  BY
THE EMPLOYER, OR ANOTHER INSURANCE CARRIER OF THE EMPLOYER HAS MAILED OR
DELIVERED  WRITTEN  NOTICE  THAT  THE  POLICY HAS BEEN REPLACED OR IS NO
LONGER DESIRED.
  § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
it shall have become a law, and shall apply to all  policies  issued  or
renewed on or after such effective date.