Section 16.4 Policy forms[, certificate of insurance] and other standards.

(a) Every binder, policy, contract, rider and endorsement issued pursuant to section 6301 of the Insurance Law on special risks located or resident in New York State shall comply with minimum standard policy provisions of the Insurance Law and this Title.

(b) For a coverage coded as a class 3 risk pursuant to Section 16.12 of this Part, the insurer shall electronically file with the superintendent[, in a form and manner acceptable to the superintendent:

(1) Within one business day of binding the insurance coverage, a certificate of insurance evidencing the existence and terms of the policy;

(2) Within 30 days from the inception date of the policy:

(i) the certificate of insurance specified in Section 16.4(b)(1) of this part; and

(ii) the following information:

(a) The identity of the insured and a statement that the insured meets the minimum commercial risk premium and financial condition standards for a “large commercial insured” pursuant to Section 6303(b) of the Insurance Law;

(b) Major type of insurance;

(c) Rate services organization classification (such as Insurance Service Organization classification), if applicable, or, if not applicable, a description of the class to be written;

(d) Risk manager name, employer and contact information, including mailing address, phone number and email address, and a statement that the insurer has verified that the risk manager who assisted in the negotiation and purchase of the policy on behalf of the insured meets the qualifications required by section 6303(b)(2) of the Insurance Law; and

(e) The New York producer license number, if the risk manager is required to be a New York licensed producer; and

(3) with respect to] a policy form that has not been previously filed with the superintendent[, the policy form,]. The insurer shall file the policy form in a form and manner acceptable to the superintendent, within three business days after first delivery of a policy using the form, but no later than 60 calendar days after the inception date of the policy.

(c)(1) An insurer required to make a filing or a submission to the superintendent electronically pursuant to this Part may apply to the superintendent for an exemption from the electronic filing requirement by submitting a written request to the superintendent for approval at least 30 days in advance of making the filing or submission.

(2) The request for an exemption shall:

(i) Identify the time period for which the insurer is requesting the exemption; and

(ii) Specify whether the insurer is making the request for an exemption based upon undue hardship, impracticability, or good cause, and set forth a detailed explanation as to the reason that the superintendent should approve the request.

Section 16.8(e) is amended to read as follows:

(e) Where a policy includes coverage for both New York and non-New York exposures, the total premium for all exposures may be used for purposes of determining class 1 or class 3 eligibility pursuant to section [16.1(f)] 16.1(j) of this Part. However, a report filed with the superintendent showing special risk premiums and losses shall only include risks related to New York exposures unless the statement filing instructions specify otherwise.

Section 16.9(a)(2) is amended to read as follows:

(2) in which the insurer shall maintain or have electronic access to the underwriting files, experience statistics, financial and other records, applicable to business underwritten and transacted under section 6302 of the Insurance Law, subject to examination by the [Department of Financial Services] superintendent as often as the superintendent deems necessary.

This rulemaking conforms section 16.4 to recent amendments made by Chapter 75 of the Laws of 2013 to Insurance Law section 6303(a)(3), to extend the expiration date of the statute to June 30, 2015, and repeal the requirement that insurers file a certificate of insurance with the Department of Financial Services within one business day of writing such a policy.

This rulemaking also corrects: (1) the reference in section 16.8(e) to section 16.1(f) to read 16.1(j) and (2) inadvertent revisions that were made to section 16.9(a)(2) when that section was updated as part of the consolidated action to amend multiple Parts of 11 NYCRR to revise references that were outdated as a result of the consolidation of the New York State Insurance and Banking Departments into a new Department of Financial Services.

Because the amendment merely conforms section 16.4 with the revisions made to Insurance Law section 6303(a)(3) by Chapter 75 of the Laws of 2013, corrects a minor error in section 16.8, and corrects recent inadvertent revisions to section 16.9, no person or entity is likely to object to this rulemaking. Accordingly, this rulemaking is determined to be a consensus rulemaking, as defined in State Administrative Procedure Act (“SAPA”) § 102(11), and is proposed pursuant to SAPA § 202(1)(b)(i). Therefore, this rulemaking is exempt from the requirement to file a Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small Businesses and Local Governments, or a Rural Area Flexibility Analysis.

Amendment of the regulation will not adversely impact job or employment opportunities in New York, or have any adverse impact on self-employment opportunities, because the revision imposes no new or additional requirements on any insurer subject to the rule. The proposed rule amends section 16.4 to remove certain current requirements in order to conform section 16.9 with the revisions recently made to Insurance Law section 6303(a)(3) by Chapter 75 of the Laws of 2013. The rulemaking also corrects: (1) the reference made in section 16.8(e) to section 16.1(f) to read 16.1(j) and (2) corrects an inadvertent revision that was made to section 16.9(a)(2) when that section was updated as part of the consolidated action to amend multiple Parts of 11 NYCRR to revise references that were outdated as a result of the consolidation of the New York State Insurance and Banking Departments into a new Department of Financial Services.

The Department of Financial Services believes that the amended rule will not result in any adverse job or employment impact.