S9537 — Relates to motor vehicle insurance fairness; repealer

Summary

Relates to motor vehicle insurance fairness; provides that insurance rates shall not be increased based on certain factors; sets forth processes for motor vehicle insurers to have rate increases approved; allows public access in relation to any proposed insurance rate increases; allows members of the public to request permission to intervene in proceedings related to rate increases; directs rules and regulations to be established.

Bill Text

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Compared against the New York Consolidated Laws as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends 1 section(s) of the New York Consolidated Laws: Section 2331 of the insurance law.

• Section 2331 of the insurance law

  § 2331. Motor vehicle insurance fairness. (a) Definition. For purposes of this section, the term "proceeding" shall mean the filing of any rate, rating plan, rating rule or rating manual and any rulemaking conducted pursuant to this section. (b) Prohibitions; refusal to insure. (1) No insurer shall refuse to issue or renew a policy or contract of motor vehicle insurance based in whole or in part on any of the prohibited underwriting and rating factors set forth in subsection (c) of this section, or use such factors to determine the terms of coverage or placement in a particular affil- iate within an insurance company group. (2) Any schedule of rates, rating plan, rating rule, rating manual or any other method of establishing the premium to be paid by a motor vehi- cle insurance policyholder or covered driver, and the modification ther- eof, based in whole or in part on any of the prohibited underwriting and rating factors set forth in subsection (c) of this section shall be deemed unfairly discriminatory. (c) Prohibited factors. No filing of a rate, rating plan, rating rule or rate manual applicable to motor vehicle insurance shall be approved by the superintendent if the filing is based, in whole or in part, on the following factors: (1) any criteria protected under section two hundred ninety-six of the executive law; (2) age, except as provided for under subsection (d) of this section; italics (3) employment or occupation, except as it pertains to whether a vehi- cle is being used for a business purpose and the nature of such use; (4) education level attained; (5) home ownership or property value; (6) consumer credit information or any other credit-based score; (7) the absence of prior insurance; (8) the amount or provider of prior insurance coverage; (9) any measure of a consumer's price elasticity of demand; (10) the zip code, or any territorial designation geographically smal- ler than a zip code, in which the policyholder resides, except as it pertains to the rate of auto-related crimes, such as theft and vandal- ism, or accident rates in such zip code or territorial designation; (11) any data related to a consumer used to justify a rate increase where such data is more than two years old; or (12) the level of income or wealth. (d) Years of driving experience. Notwithstanding paragraph two of subsection (c) of this section, an insurer may consider the number of years of driving experience of an applicant for the purposes of under- writing and rating. (e) Territory or any other geographical characteristic. Territory or any other geographical characteristic shall not be considered for the purposes of underwriting a policy or contract of motor vehicle insur- ance, including, but not limited to, any decision to sell, refuse to sell, cancel, or non-renew. Notwithstanding paragraph ten of subsection (c) of this section, an insurer may, for rating purposes, use a territo- rial factor that is not otherwise prohibited under this section if the territorial factor does not have more than a ten percent impact on the premium that would otherwise be charged. (f) Prohibited business practices. Every insurer issuing or delivering a policy or contract of motor vehicle insurance in the state of New York shall demonstrate that its marketing, underwriting, rating, claims handling, fraud investigations, and any algorithm or model used for those such business practices do not disparately impact any group of customers based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, or gender expression. (g) Prior approval of rates. (1) No rate shall be approved by the superintendent or remain in effect that is excessive, inadequate, unfairly discriminatory, or otherwise in violation of this section. In considering whether a rate is excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discri- minatory, no consideration shall be given to the degree of competition, and the superintendent shall consider whether such r

  added

Action History

1. March 20, 2026

   REFERRED TO INSURANCE

Sponsors

• April Baskin · Primary

Subjects