In my Sept. 21, 2017 column “Recent Legislative, Regulatory Amendments Pertaining to Auto Insurance, Part II,” I noted that the Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (SUM) limits bills, S5644B (co-sponsored by State Senators James Seward, Joseph Addabbo, Marisol Alcantara and Tony Avella), and A8519A (sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph Morelle), had passed both Houses of the New York State Legislature in June 2017, and were awaiting Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature. I now take this opportunity to inform my readers that on Dec. 18, 2017, the Governor did, in fact, sign those bills into law, as Chapter 490 of the Laws of New York, 2017, also known as the “Driver and Family Protection Act.”[1]
Justification
This new law, in the form of an amendment to Insurance Law §3420(f) by the addition of new sub-paragraphs 2-a (A), (B), (C) and (D), offers a dramatic change with regard to the purchase of automobile insurance by New York policyholders. As set forth in the Bill Summary, the justification for this statutory amendment is as follows: “Supplementary insurance, also known as uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance, protects motorists who suffer severe and devastating injuries in accidents with drivers who carry inadequate or no insurance. Few drivers are aware of the value of supplementary insurance and insurance companies rarely offer supplementary insurance coverage above the statutory minimum. This bill will ensure that drivers are fully protected themselves by supplementary insurance equal to the bodily injury liability insurance coverage they select to protect others, unless they affirmatively elect lower coverage for themselves.”
Comparison to Prior (Current) Law
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