Font Size: 
N.Y. Insurers Directed to Provide Benefits for Gay Married Couples
New York Law Journal
November 26, 2008
Insurers in New York must treat same-sex couples who have been legally married out of state as validly married for insurance purposes, including qualifying for coverage under health policies, Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo directed Friday.
"We expect insurance companies to provide the same rights and benefits to all legally married couples, regardless of the sex of the spouses," Dinallo said in a statement. He cited Gov. David A. Paterson's May directive to state agencies to afford gay couples married in jurisdictions where same-sex marriages are legal the same rights and obligations as heterosexuals.
The Insurance Department on Friday issued its directive, in the form of a circular letter to insurers. In it, department general counsel Robert H. Easton wrote that he had determined that insurers cannot make distinctions in terms of coverage or sales of policies between legally married opposite-sex and same-sex couples.
Failure to comply could subject insurers to penalties under state human rights laws and other anti-discrimination statutes, Easton warned. Dinallo said the directive applies to virtually all insurance products sold in the state, including life, disability, long-term care and health insurance.
The executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Donna Lieberman, said in a statement Friday that "families across New York will feel safer tonight than they did last night" because of the decision.
