Assembly Bill A10443

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10443
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 6, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Insurance
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  insurance  law,  in relation to clarifying that
   certain prohibitions on insurance companies shall apply to policies or
   contracts purchased and delivered or issued for delivery in the  state
   of New York
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  4226  of  the  insurance  law,  paragraph  6  of
 subsection  (a)  as added by chapter 616 of the laws of 1997, is amended
 to read as follows:
   §  4226.  Misrepresentations,  misleading  statements  and  incomplete
 comparisons  by  insurers. (a) No insurer authorized to do in this state
 the business of life, or accident and health insurance, or to make annu-
 ity contracts shall WITH RESPECT TO ANY POLICY OR CONTRACT PURCHASED AND
 DELIVERED OR ISSUED FOR DELIVERY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK:
   (1) issue or circulate, or cause or permit to be issued or  circulated
 on  its  behalf,  any  illustration,  circular,  statement or memorandum
 misrepresenting the terms, benefits or advantages of any of its policies
 or contracts;
   (2) make any estimate of the dividends or share of  surplus  or  addi-
 tional amounts to be received on such policies or contracts;
   (3)  make  any false or misleading statement of the dividends or share
 of surplus or additional amounts paid by any  such  insurer  on  similar
 policies or contracts;
   (4)  make  any  misleading representation, or any misrepresentation of
 the financial condition of any such insurer  or  of  the  legal  reserve
 system upon which it operates; or
   (5) make or deliver to any person or persons any incomplete comparison
 of  any such policies or contracts for the purpose of inducing, or tend-
 ing to induce, such person or persons to lapse, forfeit or surrender any
 insurance policy or contract.
   (6) replace the individual life insurance policies or individual annu-
 ity contracts of an insurer by the same  or  different  insurer  without

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

                                                            LBD14975-01-6
 A. 10443                            2
 
 conforming to the standards promulgated by regulation by the superinten-
 dent. Such regulation shall:
   (A) specify what constitutes the replacement of a life insurance poli-
 cy or annuity contract and the proper disclosure and notification proce-
 dures to replace a policy or contract;
   (B)  require  notification  of the proposed replacement to the insurer
 whose policies or contracts are intended to be replaced;
   (C) require the timely exchange of illustrative and  cost  information
 required  by section three thousand two hundred nine of this chapter and
 necessary for completion of a comparison of the  proposed  and  replaced
 coverage; and
   (D)  provide for a sixty-day period following issuance of the replace-
 ment policies or contracts during which the policy or contract owner may
 return the policies or contracts and reinstate the replaced policies  or
 contracts.
   (b)  [Any] WITH RESPECT TO ANY POLICY OR CONTRACT PURCHASED AND DELIV-
 ERED OR ISSUED FOR DELIVERY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, ANY comparison  of
 the  policies  or  contracts  of  any  such insurer or insurers shall be
 deemed to be an incomplete comparison if it does not conform to all  the
 requirements  for comparisons established by the superintendent by regu-
 lation.
   (c) In any determination, judicial or otherwise, of the incompleteness
 or misleading character of any such comparison or of representation,  it
 shall  not  be  presumed  that  the  insured knew or knows of any of the
 provisions or benefits contained in any  insurance  policy  or  contract
 PURCHASED AND DELIVERED OR ISSUED FOR DELIVERY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
   (d)  [Any] WITH RESPECT TO ANY POLICY OR CONTRACT PURCHASED AND DELIV-
 ERED OR ISSUED FOR DELIVERY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, ANY  such  insurer
 that  knowingly  violates  any  provision  of this section, or knowingly
 receives any premium  or  other  compensation  in  consequence  of  such
 violation shall, in addition to any other penalty provided in this chap-
 ter,  be  liable  to  a penalty in the amount of such premium or compen-
 sation, which penalty may be  sued  for  and  recovered  by  any  person
 aggrieved  for  [his]  SUCH  PERSON'S own use and benefit, in accordance
 with the provisions of the civil practice law and rules.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.