Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE |
|
---|---|
Jan 03, 2018 | referred to insurance |
Jun 02, 2017 | referred to rules |
senate Bill S6556
Sponsored By
James L. Seward
(R, C, IP, RFM) 0 Senate District
Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee
- Introduced
- In Committee
- On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Delivered to Governor
- Signed/Vetoed by Governor
Your Voice
Actions
Co-Sponsors
Simcha Felder
(D) 17th Senate District
S6556 (ACTIVE) - Details
- See Assembly Version of this Bill:
- A8004
- Current Committee:
- Senate Insurance
- Law Section:
- Insurance Law
- Laws Affected:
- Amd §3420, Ins L
- Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
-
2019-2020: S3634
2021-2022: S3551
S6556 (ACTIVE) - Summary
Provides that a liability insurer may be sued for and the plaintiff may recover compensatory damages in excess of the limits of the policy when the insurer failed to effectuate prompt and fair settlement of the claim and considered its interests to the detriment of the insured so as to cause the rendering of a judgment in excess of the policy limits.
S6556 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo
BILL NUMBER: S6556 PURPOSE : To clarify the duties of liability and casualty insurers to their insureds. SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS : This bill amends Insurance Law section 3420(b) regarding standard provisions for liability insurance and the rights of the injured person, to add that such person may also recover compensatory damages from the insurer where the insurer failed to effectuate a prompt and fair settlement of a claim or portion of a claim, and where the insurer failed to reasonably accord at least equal or more favorable consideration to its insured's interests as it did to its own interests, and thereby exposed the insured to a judgment above the policy limits. JUSTIFICATION : New Yorkers who pay insurance premiums should be able to expect insurers to live up to their duty to act in good faith, according at least equal or more favorable consideration to the policyholder's interests as to its own business interests. When insurers do not meet this obligation it is important that the person who has been harmed by
S6556 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 6556 2017-2018 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E June 2, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SEWARD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to maintaining an action against a liability insurer seeking compensatory damages in excess of the policy limits where such insurer failed to engage in prompt and fair settlement of the claim THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Section 3420 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new subsection (b-1) to read as follows: (B-1) AN ACTION MAY ALSO BE MAINTAINED BY THE PERSONS IDENTIFIED IN PARAGRAPHS ONE, TWO AND THREE OF SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION AGAINST THE INSURER TO RECOVER COMPENSATORY DAMAGES FROM SUCH INSURER TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE JUDGEMENT AGAINST THE INSURED, NOT LIMITED TO THE POLICY LIMITS AND NOT SUBJECT TO THE LIMITATIONS AND CONDITIONS OF PARA- GRAPH TWO OF SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION, WHERE THE INSURER FAILED TO EFFECTUATE A PROMPT AND FAIR SETTLEMENT OF A CLAIM OR ANY PORTION THERE- OF, AND THE INSURER FAILED TO REASONABLY ACCORD AT LEAST EQUAL OR MORE FAVORABLE CONSIDERATION TO ITS INSURED'S INTERESTS AS IT DID TO ITS OWN INTERESTS, AND THEREBY EXPOSED THE INSURED TO A JUDGEMENT IN EXCESS OF THE POLICY LIMITS. § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11796-01-7
Comments
Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.
Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.