In my previous article, I began a discussion of the spate of recent noteworthy changes to the statutes and regulations governing auto insurance.1 Therein, I promised to continue that topic with a discussion of an even more recent set of amendments to the Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (SUM) Endorsement set forth in Regulation 35-D (11 NYCRR §60-2.3, et seq.), and an analysis and update on the proposed legislation pertaining to the required limits of SUM coverage, an earlier version of which was discussed in these pages several years ago.2 Below is my attempt at keeping that promise.
Sixth Amendment to Regulation 35-D
Pursuant to the authority granted to her by §§202 and 302 of the Financial Services Law, and §§301, 307, 308 and 3420 of the Insurance Law, the Superintendent of Financial Services, Maria T. Vullo, recently promulgated the Sixth Amendment to Part 60-2 of Title 11 of the Official Computation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York (Insurance Regulation No. 35-D), governing SUM coverage, which took effect on Aug. 1, 2017. Though less extensive and less dramatic than the changes to the Regulation 35-D SUM Endorsement enacted pursuant to the Seventh Amendment to Regulation 35-D, discussed in my prior article, which was enacted on June 29, 2017, as an emergency measure, the Sixth Amendment changes are significant in their own right. The most significant of these changes are summarized below.
