Assembly Bill A11147

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   11147
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             November 6, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Cahill) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Insurance
 
 AN ACT to direct the department  of  financial  services  to  study  and
   report  upon  the  adequacy and affordability of business interruption
   insurance coverage for pandemics,  viruses  and  other  public  health
   emergencies;  and  providing  for  the  repeal of such provisions upon
   expiration thereof
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The  legislature  hereby  finds that significant economic
 liabilities surrounding quarantines and shutdowns  associated  with  the
 COVID-19  outbreak  have  sparked  debate as to the exact terms, overall
 costs and general adequacy of business interruption  insurance  policies
 related   to  coverage  for  pandemics,  viruses  and  other  infectious
 diseases.  The tremendous financial impact upon the  business  community
 due  to  the ongoing public health crisis highlights the need to examine
 the current status and sufficiency of  business  interruption  insurance
 coverage  related  to  this  health epidemic and potentially other wide-
 spread events in the future.
   § 2. The superintendent of financial services shall review and  report
 on  the  adequacy,  reasonableness  and affordability of business inter-
 ruption insurance coverage  as  it  relates  to  losses  resulting  from
 pandemics,  viruses  and  other  infectious  diseases. Such report shall
 include but not be limited to:
   (a) the present state of the  marketplace  regarding  pandemic-related
 insurance coverage for business interruption policies;
   (b)  prevailing reasons for the denial of insurance coverage for busi-
 ness interruption policies related  to  pandemics,  viruses,  infectious
 diseases and other common exclusions;
   (c)  the  general  appropriateness,  significance  and  credibility of
 rating variables used to  determine  premiums  and  the  cost  of  risks
 covered by business interruption insurance policies;
   (d)  the  experience  of  states  and jurisdictions as far as business
 interruption insurance coverage for pandemic-related events;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD17305-03-0

 A. 11147                            2
 
   (e) the experience of states and jurisdictions as far as the projected
 costs, implications and concerns associated with  mandating  retroactive
 business interruption insurance coverage;
   (f)  analysis  as to the necessity and role of federal intervention to
 ensure business interruption  insurance  coverage  for  pandemic-related
 events, including proposed legislation;
   (g)  the  overall  immediate  and long-term costs to both insurers and
 insureds regarding business interruption insurance coverage for  pandem-
 ic-related  events,  including  the potential need for any public subsi-
 dies;
   (h) the financial impacts and other concerns associated with  removing
 the  typical physical damage requirement traditionally found in business
 interruption insurance policies;
   (i) an examination as to the financial impacts  to  the  property  and
 casualty  insurance  marketplace related to business interruption insur-
 ance coverage for pandemic-related events;
   (j) the extent to which exclusions and uninsurable events  are  appro-
 priately and unambiguously disclosed to policyholders; and
   (k) recommendations to promote reasonable, adequate and cost-effective
 coverage  for  businesses to secure and for the insurance marketplace to
 offer business interruption insurance policies that  cover  pandemic-re-
 lated events.
   § 3. Within one hundred eighty days of the effective date of this act,
 the superintendent of financial services shall submit such report to the
 governor,  temporary  president of the senate, and speaker of the assem-
 bly.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be  repealed  60
 days  after  the  submission  of the report pursuant to section three of
 this act.