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This entry was published on 2022-06-24
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SECTION 901
Requirements for doing business
General Business (GBS) CHAPTER 20, ARTICLE 40
§ 901. Requirements for doing business. 1. No shared vehicle shall be
classified as a commercial vehicle, for-hire vehicle, transportation
network company or TNC vehicle as defined in article forty-four-B of the
vehicle and traffic law, taxi-cab, rental vehicle as defined in section
one hundred thirty-seven-a of the vehicle and traffic law, or livery
vehicle solely because the shared vehicle owner allows such vehicle to
be used for peer-to-peer car sharing, or as such for the duration of the
car sharing period, provided that: (a) the peer-to-peer car sharing is
compliant with a peer-to-peer car sharing program as provided in this
article; (b) if the car sharing program does not prohibit shared vehicle
drivers from using shared vehicles for commercial uses, the insurance
maintained by the car sharing program does not exclude coverage for such
commercial uses; and (c) the car sharing program does not knowingly
place the shared vehicle into use as a commercial vehicle or as a
vehicle for-hire or as a transportation network company vehicle by a
shared vehicle driver while engaged in peer-to-peer car sharing, unless
the shared vehicle driver or owner, as applicable, is in compliance with
other laws applied to the commercial use or to use as a vehicle for-hire
or as a transportation network company vehicle.

2. A peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator, during each
peer-to-peer car sharing period for each shared vehicle that it
facilitates the use and operation of, shall maintain insurance that
provides financial responsibility coverage as follows:

(a) provide insurance coverage that satisfies the financial
responsibility requirements set forth in section three thousand four
hundred twenty of the insurance law, article fifty-one of the insurance
law and such other requirements, rules or regulations that may apply for
the purposes of satisfying the financial responsibility requirements
with respect to the use or operation of a motor vehicle;

(b) maintain additional insurance against loss from the liability
imposed by law for damages during the car sharing period, including
damages for care and loss of services, because of bodily injury to or
death of any person and injury to or destruction of property arising out
of the ownership, maintenance, use or operation of a specific personal
vehicle or vehicles within the state, or elsewhere in the United States
or Canada, subject to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, with
respect to each such occurrence, of at least one million two hundred
fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of any
person, and injury to or destruction of property;

(c) provide coverage in accordance with subsection (f) of section
three thousand four hundred twenty of the insurance law, providing
supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance for bodily
injury, subject to a limit per occurrence in the amount of one million
two hundred fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury or death of
any person;

(d) the insurance required under this subdivision need not be
coterminous with the registration period of the shared vehicle insured;
and

(e) For purposes of article fifty-one of the insurance law, 11 NYCRR
Part 65 and general liability claims, notice to the shared vehicle
owner, shared vehicle driver, peer-to-peer car sharing program
administrator, or any insurer of the shared vehicle owner, shared
vehicle driver, or peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator of any
claim shall be deemed notice to all appropriate parties and insurers.
Any shared vehicle owner, shared vehicle driver, peer-to-peer car
sharing program administrator, or any insurer of the shared vehicle
owner, shared vehicle driver, or peer-to-peer car sharing program
administrator receiving such notice shall provide such notice to all
appropriate parties.

3. The insurance requirements provided in subdivision two of this
section may be satisfied by insurance provided through a group policy
maintained by the peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator on the
shared vehicle, shared vehicle owner, and shared vehicle driver pursuant
to this article. Provided that the peer-to-peer car sharing program
administrator's group liability insurance policy shall be primary during
each car sharing period, pursuant to section nine hundred two of this
article, nothing shall be deemed to preclude an insurer from providing
excess or umbrella coverage for the shared vehicle owner or shared
vehicle driver if such shared vehicle owner or shared vehicle driver
chooses to do so by contract or endorsement.

4. A peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator shall, during each
peer-to-peer car sharing period for each shared vehicle that it
facilitates the use and operation of, perform the following:

(a) provide shared vehicle owners with proof of insurance coverage
satisfying subdivision two of this section and such shared vehicle owner
or shared vehicle driver shall carry such proof of coverage with him or
her at all times during his or her operation of a shared vehicle during
a peer-to-peer car sharing period. Such proof of coverage shall be in
such form as the commissioner of motor vehicles shall prescribe, which
may be in the form of an insurance identification card as defined in
section three hundred eleven of the vehicle and traffic law. Any
insurance identification card issued pursuant to the provisions of this
article shall be in addition to the insurance identification card
required pursuant to article six of the vehicle and traffic law, and
nothing contained in this article shall be deemed to supersede the
provisions of article six of the vehicle and traffic law. Whenever the
production of an insurance identification card is required by law, a
shared vehicle owner or shared vehicle driver shall: (i) produce the
insurance identification card pursuant to article six of the vehicle and
traffic law; and (ii) if such shared vehicle owner or shared vehicle
driver was operating such vehicle during a peer-to-peer car sharing
period, such shared vehicle owner or shared vehicle driver shall also
produce the insurance identification card required pursuant to this
article. A shared vehicle owner or shared vehicle driver who, while
operating a shared vehicle during a peer-to-peer car sharing period, has
in effect the insurance required pursuant to this article, shall not be
deemed to be in violation of insurance requirements under article six of
the vehicle and traffic law during such time as he or she was operating
such vehicle during such period.

(b) provide the following for each shared vehicle driver, for each
peer-to-peer car sharing period:

(i) an insurance identification card as defined in subdivision ten of
section three hundred eleven of the vehicle and traffic law, or other
documentation, whether printed or electronic, which the shared vehicle
driver shall carry and have available in the vehicle at all times during
the peer-to-peer car sharing period and clearly demonstrates that the
security insurance referred to in subdivision two of this section is in
full force and effect; and

(ii) a toll-free number, electronic mail, or other such form of
communication by which a law enforcement police officer, representative
of the department of motor vehicles, or other officer of this state or
any political subdivision thereof with relevant job responsibilities may
confirm that the insurance provided for in subdivision two of this
section is in full force and effect.

(c) collect, maintain, and make available to the shared vehicle owner,
the shared vehicle owner's primary motor vehicle liability insurer in
connection with a claimed loss, the shared vehicle driver's primary
motor vehicle liability insurer in connection with a claimed loss, any
excess or umbrella insurers in connection with a claimed loss, third
parties directly involved in motor vehicle incidents with a shared
vehicle in connection with a claimed loss, and any government agency as
required by law, within ten business days of a request, or as reasonably
practicable thereafter the following information pertaining to incidents
which occurred during the peer-to-peer car sharing period:

(i) available records of the peer-to-peer car sharing period for each
shared vehicle involved, and to the extent available, verifiable
electronic records of the time, initial and final locations of the
vehicle, and, to the extent mileage is collected, miles driven;

(ii) in instances where an insurance claim has been filed with a group
insurer, all information relevant to the claim, to the extent such
information is available, including but not limited to, payments by the
program concerning accidents, damages and injuries; and

(iii) For purposes of article fifty-one of the insurance law, 11 NYCRR
Part 65 and general liability claims, notice to the shared vehicle
owner, shared vehicle driver, peer-to-peer car sharing program
administrator, or any insurer of the shared vehicle owner, shared
vehicle driver, or peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator of any
claim shall be deemed notice to all appropriate parties and insurers.
Any shared vehicle owner, shared vehicle driver, peer-to-peer car
sharing program administrator, or any insurer of the shared vehicle
owner, shared vehicle driver, or peer-to-peer car sharing program
administrator receiving such notice shall provide such notice to all
appropriate parties.

(d) ensure that the shared vehicle owner and shared vehicle driver are
given reasonable notice prior to the first use or operation of a shared
vehicle pursuant to a peer-to-peer car sharing program agreement that:

(i) during the peer-to-peer car sharing period, the shared vehicle
owner's policy of liability insurance or other motor vehicle insurance
may exclude any and all coverage afforded under the policy, provided the
shared vehicle owner's insurer notified its insured that it shall have
no duty to indemnify or defend any person or entity for liability for
any loss, death, or injury that occurs during the peer-to-peer car
sharing period; and

(ii) any insurance or physical damage protection offered pursuant to
paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section or section three
thousand four hundred fifty-eight of the insurance law, shall not be
valid or collectible for damages, losses, deaths, or injuries that occur
outside of the peer-to-peer car sharing period.

(e) ensure that the shared vehicle owner acknowledges upon or before
enrollment in a peer-to-peer car sharing program, and is notified in
plain conspicuous language before each car sharing period, that state
law may impose liability for injuries to person or property resulting
from the negligence in the use or operation of the shared vehicle by
shared vehicle drivers for judgments exceeding the coverage limits of
insurance in effect during the car sharing period. The subsequent notice
required under this subsection may be provided electronically, including
by electronic mail and hyperlink to a website explaining insurance
coverages and vicarious liability or other substantially similar means
of notice.

5. At the time a vehicle is enrolled in the peer-to-peer car sharing
program, the peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator shall file
with the commissioner of motor vehicles, in such form and manner as such
commissioner may require, a statement identifying the shared vehicle and
proof of a group policy applicable to such shared vehicle pursuant to
section three thousand four hundred seven of the insurance law. The
commissioner of motor vehicles shall identify the vehicle as enrolled in
the peer-to-peer car sharing program and provide proof of a group policy
applicable to such shared vehicle pursuant to the insurance law in such
vehicle or registration record in a manner accessible to the public.
Failure of a peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator to comply
with the provisions of this article may result in penalties.

6. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, a
group policy maintained by a program shall be placed with an insurer
authorized to write insurance in this state.

(b) If a program is unable to purchase a group policy because such
insurance is unavailable from authorized insurers, the program may
acquire such group insurance with an excess line broker pursuant to
section two thousand one hundred eighteen of the insurance law;

(c) The obligation to determine whether the insurance required by this
section is unavailable from insurers authorized to write insurance in
this state shall be made prior to the initial placement and at each
renewal of a policy.

(d) Compliance with the excess line statutes and regulations of this
state shall be performed with respect to the group as a whole and not
with respect to individual group members.

(e) A group policy provided for in this section shall not include a
mandatory arbitration clause in a policy issued pursuant to this
section. Nothing in this section supersedes the mandatory arbitration
requirements contained in section five thousand one hundred five of the
insurance law.

7. A peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator shall, upon
entering into a peer-to-peer car sharing agreement with a shared vehicle
owner and prior to the shared vehicle owner making a shared vehicle
available for sharing in the program, provide notice in plain
conspicuous language to the shared vehicle owner that he or she may need
additional insurance coverage including motor vehicle physical damage
coverage as described in paragraph nineteen of subsection (a) of section
one thousand one hundred thirteen of the insurance law if the shared
vehicle is subject to a lease or loan. A program shall also post this
notice on its website in a prominent place and provide contact
information for the department of financial services.