Senate Bill S9277

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9277

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to requiring the office
of court administration to publish an annual report regarding cases
involving property/casualty insurance companies and insureds

 
PURPOSE:

This bill will require annual reporting by the Office of Court Adminis-
tration on cases involving property and casualty insurance companies and
their insureds which were settled, or where a judgement was reached,
during the preceding year.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Requires that the Office of Court Administration prepare an
annual report to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Superintendent
of the Department of Financial Services; details the data points OCA
must report on for relevant cases.
              

Section 2: Sets the effective date. JUSTIFICATION:  In August 2025, the
Senate Committees on Insurance, Housing, and Investigations & Government
Operations jointly initiated an investigation into the affordability and
accessibility of residential property insurance. Among numerous other
findings, the Committees identified a significant lack of transparency
in court proceedings involving insurers and insureds.

As part of the Committees' probe, a hearing was held in November 2025
which featured testimony from a variety of stakeholders. Some of this
testimony pointed toward excessive jury awards as a key component of
unaffordability in the property insurance market, yet little data was
made available to back up these claims. Similarly, concerns about the
influence of third party litigation funding in such cases were
expressed, but not backed up by data.

In an effort to bring sunlight to insurance cases moving through our
court system, this bill would require the Office of Court Administration
to publish an annual report detailing the following for all relevant
cases from the previous year:

(A)The date of the first legal filing involved in the case;

(B) The date when the settlement or judgement is reached;

(C) Whether the result is a settlement or a judgement;

(D) The amount of the settlement or judgement;

(E) Whether third-party litigation funding had been utilized;

(F) The name of the insurance company involved;

(G) What type of policy coverage is involved or in question;

(H) Whether the settlement or judgement was reached in mediation, by
judge, or by a jury;
(I)In which court the case was brought;

(J) The name of the judge assigned to the case; and

(K) Any other information the chief administrator of the courts deems
relevant to the report.

In the interest of protecting the privacy of the insured(s), this bill
does not require reporting on identifiable information of the individ-
uals involved. It merely aims to provide clarity and transparency on the
volume, duration, and resolution of property insurance cases moving
through our court system- without unduly burdening OCA or inadvertently
influencing active cases.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Senate

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.