Senate Bill S9746A

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Clarifies who may sue an insurer for violations related to misrepresentations, misleading statements and incomplete comparisons

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 19, 2026	amended on third reading (t) 9746a
May 06, 2026	advanced to third reading
May 05, 2026	2nd report cal.
May 04, 2026	1st report cal.887
Apr 02, 2026	referred to insurance

Votes

- May 4, 2026 - Insurance Committee Vote
  S9746A
  
  Aye
  
  10
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  1
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  
  0
  - - Insurance Committee Vote: May 4, 2026
      
      aye (10)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Ashby
      
      Bailey
      
      Cooney
      
      Fernandez
      
      Gounardes
      
      Harckham
      
      Helming
      
      O'Mara
      
      Skoufis
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      Sanders Jr.

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

co-Sponsors

2025-S9746 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10443
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §4226, Ins L

2025-S9746 - Summary

Clarifies that residents of the state and any policyholder, contract holder, certificate holder, or beneficiary of a policy, contract, or certificate of life, accident and health insurance may sue an insurer for violations related to misrepresentations, misleading statements and incomplete comparisons.

2025-S9746 - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9746

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE::

This bill would clarify that the provisions of section 4226 only apply
with respect to policies and contracts purchased and delivered or issued
for delivery in New York.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS::

Section 1 amends section 4226 of the insurance law to clarify that the
section applies with respect to any policy or contract purchased and
delivered or issued for delivery in New York.

Section 2 provides for an immediate effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION::

States have been primary prudential regulators of the business of insur-
ance since the 1800's. Each state has its own department, insurance laws
and regulations, and each has an interest in regulating transactions
that take place within its borders. As the financial capital of the
world, New York is home to many of the world's largest insurance compa-
nies, and its regulatory system has firmly established the New York
State Department of Financial Services as the pre-eminent regulator of
insurance in the country.

In 1945, Congress endorsed this state-specific approach by enacting the
McCarran-Ferguson Act, which leaves insurance regulation up to each
state. Since the passage of McCarron-Ferguson, New York courts have
generally articulated a presumption against extraterritorial application
of New York's laws. While this has been generally understood and recog-
nized by the DFS and the New York courts, a recent contrary federal
court ruling introduced unwanted ambiguity that this legislation is
designed to correct.

This bill reinforces the well understood reading of Section 4226 by
adding language to make it clear that the section is only applicable to
policies or contracts purchased and delivered or issued for delivery in
New York. The consequences of any other reading of this statute are far
reaching as any insurer that is authorized to do business in New York
would find itself subject to litigation under Section 4226 for all of
the policies and illustrations it issues outside New York in connection
with sales that occur wholly outside of New York.  Layering New York law
on top of the law of the state where the policy was issued would intro-
duce redundant jurisdiction and potential oversight, and would inject
substantial and unnecessary uncertainty into the state-based system of
insurance regulation. This type of conflict jeopardizes the state-based
system, and potentially undermines New York's authority, by encouraging
Congress to act to displace the state-based system through federal
intervention.
By way of example, if this section of New York law is not clarified, so
long as a life insurer is authorized to do business in New York, it is
subject to liability under Section 4226 for all of its life insurance
policies and illustrations issued across the country-even those issued
outside of New York. A California insurer would be subject to liability
under New York Insurance Law Section 4226 for illustrations issued in
California or Texas, in connection with policies sold in those states.
New York has little interest in regulating stich transactions, and
significantly less of an interest than the states where those trans-
actions occurred. New York does have a strong interest in maintaining
the current state based regulatory regime for the insurance market.
Enacting this bill will strengthen that system and help to ensure the
federal government does not act.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::

This is a new bill.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE::

This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S9746 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9746
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 2, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed 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
 S. 9746                             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.

co-Sponsors

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10443
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §4226, Ins L

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9746A

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to clarifying the appli-
cation of subsection (d) of section 4226 of such law

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would clarify that the provisions of section 4226 only apply
with respect to policies and contracts purchased and delivered or issued
for delivery in New York.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 4226 of the insurance law to clarify that the
section applies with respect to any policy or contract purchased and
delivered or issued for delivery in New York.

Section 2 provides for an immediate effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

States have been primary prudential regulators of the business of insur-
ance since the 1800's. Each state has its own department, insurance laws
and regulations, and each has an interest in regulating transactions
that take place within its borders. As the financial capital of the
world, New York is home to many of the world's largest insurance compa-
nies, and its regulatory system has firmly established the New York
State Department of Financial Services as the pre-eminent regulator of
insurance in the country.

In 1945, Congress endorsed this state-specific approach by enacting the
McCarran-Ferguson Act, which leaves insurance regulation up to each
state. Since the passage of McCarron-Ferguson, New York courts have
generally articulated a presumption against extraterritorial application
of New York's laws. While this has been generally understood and recog-
nized by the DFS and the New York courts, a recent contrary federal
court ruling introduced unwanted ambiguity that this legislation is
designed to correct.

This bill reinforces the well understood reading of Section 4226 by
adding language to make it clear that the section is only applicable to
policies or contracts purchased and delivered or issued for delivery in
New York. The consequences of any other reading of this statute are far
reaching as any insurer that is authorized to do business in New York
would find itself subject to litigation under Section 4226 for all of
the policies and illustrations it issues outside New York in connection
with sales that occur wholly outside of New York. Layering New York law
on top of the law of the state where the policy was issued would intro-
duce redundant jurisdiction and potential oversight, and would inject
substantial and unnecessary uncertainty into the state-based system of
insurance regulation. This type of conflict jeopardizes the state-based
system, and potentially undermines New York's authority, by encouraging
Congress to act to displace the state-based system through federal
intervention.


By way of example, if this section of New York law is not clarified, so
long as a life insurer is authorized to do business in New York, it is
subject to liability under Section 4226 for all of its life insurance
policies and illustrations issued across the country-even those issued
outside of New York. A California insurer would be subject to liability
under New York Insurance Law Section 4226 for illustrations issued in
California or Texas, in connection with policies sold in those states.
New York has little interest in regulating stich transactions, and
significantly less of an interest than the states where those trans-
actions occurred. New York does have a strong interest in maintaining
the current state based regulatory regime for the insurance market.
Enacting this bill will strengthen that system and help to ensure the
federal government does not act.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  9746--A
     Cal. No. 887
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 2, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. BAILEY, SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Insur-
   ance  --  reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and
   second report,  ordered  to  a  third  reading,  amended  and  ordered
   reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading

 AN  ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to clarifying the appli-
   cation of subsection (d) of section 4226 of such law
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subsection  (d)  of  section 4226 of the insurance law is
 amended to read as follows:
   (d) 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 chapter, be liable to a penalty in the amount of such
 premium or compensation, which penalty may be sued for and recovered  by
 any [person] RESIDENT OF THIS STATE AND ANY POLICYHOLDER, CONTRACT HOLD-
 ER, CERTIFICATE HOLDER, OR BENEFICIARY OF A POLICY, CONTRACT, OR CERTIF-
 ICATE  SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH ONE OF SUBSECTION (B) OF SECTION THREE THOU-
 SAND TWO HUNDRED ONE OF THIS CHAPTER, aggrieved for [his] THEIR own  use
 and benefit, in accordance with the provisions of the civil practice law
 and rules.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14975-05-6

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Senate Bill S9746A

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Actions

Votes

May 4, 2026 - Insurance Committee Vote

Insurance Committee Vote: May 4, 2026

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2025-S9746 - Details

2025-S9746 - Summary

2025-S9746 - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9746 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Senate Bill S9746A

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Sponsored By

Jamaal T. Bailey

Current Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Actions

Votes

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

Jessica Scarcella-Spanton

2025-S9746 - Details

2025-S9746 - Summary

2025-S9746 - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9746 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

Jessica Scarcella-Spanton

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9746A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments