Bill Text: NY A00651 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to electronic delivery of property/casualty insurance notices and posting property/casualty insurance policies on the internet; authorizes electronic delivery of insurance notices with consent and the posting of policies on the internet if certain conditions are met; requires notice in the subject line and body of an email to be clear and conspicuous.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-06-07 - substituted by s653a [A00651 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A00651-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           651

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. D. ROSENTHAL, DICKENS, L. ROSENTHAL, SIMON, NIOU
          -- Multi-Sponsored by --  M.  of  A.  BLANKENBUSH  --  read  once  and
          referred to the Committee on Insurance

        AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to electronic delivery of
          property/casualty insurance notices

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The insurance law is amended by adding a new  section  3457
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 3457. Electronic notices and documents. (a) As used in this section,
     4  the following words shall have the following meanings:
     5    (1) "Delivered by electronic means" includes:
     6    (A)  delivery  to  an  electronic  mail  address  at which a party has
     7  consented to receive notices or documents; or
     8    (B) posting on an electronic network or site accessible via the inter-
     9  net, mobile application, computer, mobile device, tablet, or  any  other
    10  electronic  device,  together  with separate notice of the posting which
    11  shall be provided by electronic mail to the address at which  the  party
    12  has consented to receive notice or by any other delivery method that has
    13  been consented to by the party.
    14    (2)  "Party" means any recipient of any notice or document required as
    15  part of a property/casualty insurance  transaction,  including  but  not
    16  limited to an applicant, an insured, or a policyholder.
    17    (3)  "Clickwrap agreement" means a digital prompt that offers individ-
    18  uals the opportunity to acknowledge receipt of an electronic document.
    19    (b) Subject to the requirements of this section, any notice to a party
    20  or  any  other   document   required   under   applicable   law   in   a
    21  property/casualty  insurance transaction or that is to serve as evidence
    22  of property/casualty insurance coverage may be  delivered,  stored,  and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05115-01-1
        A. 651                              2

     1  presented  by  electronic  means so long as it meets the requirements of
     2  article three of the state technology law.
     3    (c)  Delivery  of a notice or document in accordance with this section
     4  shall be considered equivalent to any  delivery  method  required  under
     5  applicable  law,  including  delivery  by  first class mail; first class
     6  mail, postage prepaid; certified mail; certificate of mail;  or  certif-
     7  icate of mailing.
     8    (d)  A  notice  or document may be delivered by electronic means by an
     9  insurer to a party under this section if:
    10    (1) the party has affirmatively consented to that method  of  delivery
    11  and has not withdrawn the consent;
    12    (2)  the  party,  before  giving consent, is provided with a clear and
    13  conspicuous statement informing the party of:
    14    (A) the right of the party to withdraw consent to  have  a  notice  or
    15  document  delivered by electronic means, at any time, and any conditions
    16  or consequences imposed in the event consent is withdrawn;
    17    (B) the types of notices and documents to which  the  party's  consent
    18  would apply;
    19    (C)  the  right  of  a party to have a notice or document delivered in
    20  paper form; and
    21    (D) the procedures a party must follow to withdraw consent to  have  a
    22  notice  or  document  delivered  by  electronic  means and to update the
    23  party's electronic mail address;
    24    (3) the party:
    25    (A) before giving consent, is provided with a statement of  the  hard-
    26  ware  and  software requirements for access to and retention of a notice
    27  or document delivered by electronic means; and
    28    (B) consents electronically, or confirms consent electronically, in  a
    29  manner  that  reasonably demonstrates that the party can access informa-
    30  tion in the electronic form that will be used for notices  or  documents
    31  delivered  by  electronic means as to which the party has given consent;
    32  and
    33    (4) after consent of the party is given, the insurer, in the  event  a
    34  change  in  the  hardware  or  software requirements needed to access or
    35  retain a notice or document delivered  by  electronic  means  creates  a
    36  material  risk  that  the  party  will not be able to access or retain a
    37  subsequent notice or document to which the consent applies:
    38    (A) provides the party with a statement that describes:
    39    (i) the revised hardware and software requirements for access  to  and
    40  retention of a notice or document delivered by electronic means; and
    41    (ii) the right of the party to withdraw consent without the imposition
    42  of  any  condition  or consequence that was not disclosed at the time of
    43  initial consent; and
    44    (B) complies with paragraph two of this subsection.
    45    (e) (1) Any electronic mail being sent by an insurer  to  a  party  in
    46  connection  with the delivery of a notice or document delivered by elec-
    47  tronic means shall include in the subject  line  clear  and  conspicuous
    48  language alerting the receiving party as to what type of notice is being
    49  delivered to such party electronically.
    50    (2)  Any  electronic  mail  being  sent  by  an  insurer to a party in
    51  connection with the delivery of a notice or document delivered by  elec-
    52  tronic  means shall clearly and conspicuously include a clickwrap agree-
    53  ment embedded into the body of such electronic mail or a hyperlink lead-
    54  ing to a clickwrap agreement which will allow for the receiving party to
    55  acknowledge receipt of a notice being sent to such party by an  insurer.
    56  If the receiving party has not acknowledge receipt of such notice pursu-
        A. 651                              3

     1  ant  to  this  section  within  two  weeks of such notice being sent, an
     2  insurer shall redeliver such notice in paper form to such party.
     3    (f)  This  section  does not affect requirements related to content or
     4  timing of any notice or document required under applicable law.
     5    (g) If a provision of this  chapter  or  applicable  law  requiring  a
     6  notice  or document to be provided to a party expressly requires verifi-
     7  cation or acknowledgment of receipt  of  the  notice  or  document,  the
     8  notice  or  document  may  be  delivered by electronic means only if the
     9  method used provides for verification or acknowledgment of receipt.
    10    (h) The  legal  effectiveness,  validity,  or  enforceability  of  any
    11  contract  or  policy  of insurance executed by a party may not be denied
    12  solely because of the failure to obtain electronic consent or  confirma-
    13  tion  of  consent  of  the  party in accordance with subparagraph (B) of
    14  paragraph three of subsection (d) of this section.
    15    (i) (1) A withdrawal of consent by a party does not affect  the  legal
    16  effectiveness,  validity,  or  enforceability  of  a  notice or document
    17  delivered by electronic means to the  party  before  the  withdrawal  of
    18  consent is effective.
    19    (2)  A  withdrawal of consent by a party is effective within a reason-
    20  able period of time after receipt of the withdrawal by the insurer.
    21    (3) Failure by an insurer to comply with paragraph four of  subsection
    22  (d)  and  subsection (k) of this section may be treated, at the election
    23  of the party, as a withdrawal of consent for purposes of this section.
    24    (j) This section does not apply to a notice or document  delivered  by
    25  an  insurer  in  an  electronic  form  before the effective date of this
    26  section to a party who, before that date, has  consented  to  receive  a
    27  notice or document in an electronic form otherwise allowed by law.
    28    (k)  If the consent of a party to receive certain notices or documents
    29  in an electronic form is on file with an insurer  before  the  effective
    30  date  of  this section, and pursuant to this section, an insurer intends
    31  to deliver additional notices or documents to such party in an electron-
    32  ic form, then prior to delivering such additional notices  or  documents
    33  electronically, the insurer shall:
    34    (1) provide the party with a statement that describes:
    35    (A)  the  notices  or  documents that shall be delivered by electronic
    36  means under this section that were not  previously  delivered  electron-
    37  ically; and
    38    (B) the party's right to withdraw consent to have notices or documents
    39  delivered  by  electronic means, without the imposition of any condition
    40  or consequence that was not disclosed at the time of initial consent.
    41    (2) comply with paragraph two of subsection (d) of this section.
    42    (l) An insurer shall deliver a notice or document by any other  deliv-
    43  ery method permitted by law other than electronic means if:
    44    (1)  the  insurer  attempts to deliver the notice or document by elec-
    45  tronic means and has a reasonable basis for believing that the notice or
    46  document has not been received by the party, or
    47    (2) the  insurer  becomes  aware  that  the  electronic  mail  address
    48  provided by the party is no longer valid.
    49    (m)  This  section may not be construed to modify, limit, or supersede
    50  the provisions of  the  federal  Electronic  Signatures  in  Global  and
    51  National Commerce Act, Public Law 106-229, as amended.
    52    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    53  have become a law.