| By Mary Byrnes, AAI-M, AU, Director of Education Having worked in commercial lines for almost all of my adult life, I realized that there are just some coverages that sell themselves, if they’re explained correctly. The “Management Liability” class of coverages fit that bill. There are cases that are so newsworthy, that they’re instantly recognizable by anyone. If you hear Bernie Madoff or Enron, you know exactly what the issue was. Most insureds think that because they’ve got crime or GL coverage that they’ve got it covered, but they are sooooo wrong!
Did you know that if your insured has a 401K program for their employees and they have the plan administered by a third party fund manager, your insured can still be personally (yes PERSONALLY) liable? Back to Bernie Madoff. There were plenty of third party fund managers who placed the 401K and pension plan funds in investment programs with Bernie Madoff, after all, it looked good on paper and showed a great return. You know the rest of the story, it hit the fan in a big way. You may know someone who lost their pension due to this situation. Here’s where it hits home…If the CEO of your insured picked the fund manager, and something goes very wrong, (like the fund manager totally mismanages it, leaves town with it etc), your insured’s CEO picked the fund manager. The CEO is personally liable for the decision and the fall out. Scary stuff for an insured and for the agent if the appropriate coverage hasn’t been discussed with the insured.
Find out about Directors & Officers (D&O), Employment Practices Liability (EPLI), Fiduciary Liability (FLI), & Employee Benefits Liability (EBL) in our upcoming webinar. Chris Amrhein will guide you through what each of these coverages does. You can’t really control what your insureds do from a management standpoint, but you can save the day with the right coverages.
I’ll be there too!
|
|  The state legislature is on recess and will return to session Monday, April 29th. Here are the latest on what's happening in Albany:
Senator Sanders Sponsors Bill to Repeal Anti-Arson Application Requirement
Senator James Sanders (D, Queens) has sponsored legislation to repeal New York City’s anti-arson application. Senate bill 5126, which Big I NY supports, would repeal section 3403 of the Insurance Law. This section requires property owners to fill out a lengthy anti-arson application as a condition of obtaining property insurance. While originally intended to deter arson by providing insurers with information to assist in an investigation, the application has long outlived its usefulness. Insurers now have access to a vast amount of information via third parties, and no longer rely on the information included in on the anti-arson form.
The anti-arson application has outlived its usefulness, is burdensome for customers and agents, and puts property owners at risk of losing coverage if it is not submitted properly. To date, Rochester and Buffalo have repealed this requirement, leaving NYC as the last remaining jurisdiction in NY to require it. Big I NY is working with other carrier and producer groups to advance this bill in the 2019 session.
New Sexual Harassment Bill Introduced
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic and Senator Andrew Gounardes have introduced legislation to define what constitutes sexual harassment. The bill (A.7167/S.3377) would also make sexual harassment and sexual discrimination a part of New York Human Rights Law. Under the bill, where a case is brought for sexual harassment or for unlawful employment discrimination based on sex, liability would attach if the plaintiff demonstrates that the conduct complained of was motivated in whole or in part by the person’s sex, regardless of the level of pervasiveness or severity of conduct. The removal of the “severe and pervasive” standard that is currently applied in sexual harassment cases is sure to cause concern for many businesses. However, the bill would permit an employer to assert an affirmative defense to liability if the conduct consisted of “no greater than what a reasonable victim…would consider petty slights or trivial annoyances.”
New Poll Finds 48% of New Yorkers Support Single-Payer Healthcare, Majority Believe it is Harder for Businesses to Succeed
A recent Siena poll found that 48% of New Yorkers support a state single-payer healthcare system, while 44% are opposed and 8% are undecided. Legislation to enact single-payer healthcare, which would replace the existing private healthcare system with a single, government-funded system, has passed the Assembly in previous years. The Senate intends to hold public hearings on the issue, while the Governor has not indicated support for single payer, and has instead created a committee of experts to study a universal health care plan. While the issue has grabbed headlines and enjoys vocal support from progressive lawmakers and activists, this latest poll demonstrates that the New Yorkers, overall, have mixed feelings.
Asked about the ability of businesses to succeed in New York, only 11 percent say it’s gotten easier in the last five years, while 51 percent say it’s gotten harder and 29 percent say it’s stayed about the same.
|
| By Mary Byrnes, AAI-M,
AU, Director of Education
We are asked pretty frequently, “Why does my Agent’s License show as inactive?”
An Agent’s License (PC or LA) is all about the relationship between the insurance company and the licensee. The Agent’s license is only good for that relationship. If someone has either a PC or an LA license that’s showing as ‘inactive,” it’s because there isn’t a direct relationship (company appointment) which is required between the licensee and the insurance carrier. When the agent’s license is issued, if there isn’t an insurance company appointment filed, the agent’s license goes into “inactive” status. The NYS DFS allows one renewal of an “inactive” agent’s license. After that first renewal, it will expire on the next renewal date.
Why is it so common to see “inactive” agent’s licenses? One reason is that the licensee who previously worked for a direct writer might have joined your staff, and those direct writing agencies will only allow their staff to have an agent’s license, since they only represent 1 carrier, and they have an insurance company appointment. The agent’s license follows the relationship between the carrier and the licensee, it doesn’t follow the person licensed.
It also seems to be a misconception that if you work for an agency you’d need an agent’s license. Not so! An agent’s license is only needed is if the licensee has an insurance company appointment. That’s not to say that it never happens that an individual does have an insurance company appointment, but it’s more common for insurance company appointments to be under the agency name.
So if you have an “inactive” agent’s license, you should weigh whether you really do need an agent’s license or if you need a broker’s license that follows the person and doesn’t require an insurance company appointment. Only you can know.
Want more info? Check out our Licensing section of the Answer Center, where you can find FAQs, helpful tools, and laws, regulations, and legal opinions. You'll need to be logged in to access this great resource - but it's worth it! |
| The New York State Workers' Compensation Board has announced that the maximum weekly benefit for disability claims will increase to $934.11. The new limit, up from $904.74, applies to claims with dates of accident starting July 1, 2019 and ending June 30, 2020. New York Workers' Compensation Law requires the board every July 1 to set the maximum weekly benefit at two-thirds of the New York State average weekly wage for the previous calendar year. The New York State Department of Labor has determined that the statewide average weekly wage in 2018 was $1,401.17. The new maximum benefit is two-thirds of that figure. |
| The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB) has announced an increase in the amount of construction contractors' payroll that can be counted when carriers calculate Workers' Compensation insurance premiums. Effective July 1, 2019, an individual employee's payroll will be capped at $1,401.17 per week. This is an increase from the current level of $1,357.11. New York Insurance Law requires the construction industry payroll limitation. The law requires the amount to be adjusted every July 1 based on the New York State average weekly wage. |
| In recent years, New York has seen an alarming increase in the number of lawsuits against businesses alleging their websites do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In just the past year, over 1,500 such lawsuits were filed in New York.
Under the ADA, businesses must ensure their website makes accommodations for people with disabilities, including being compatible with adaptive technologies. But there are many less obvious requirements, such as using standard colors for visited and unvisited links, providing a link to the homepage from every page, and using a user-friendly 404 error page.
While the law is well-intentioned, there is growing concern that it is being abused by lawyers to extract settlements from unsuspecting businesses. As reported recently, lawsuits are often sent without warning and seek to intimidate businesses for a payment of $10,000 or more.
State lawmakers, business groups, and even disability-rights activists have spoken out against this troubling practice. Stephanie Woodward of the Center for Disability Rights was recently quoted as saying, “For 29 years now, it should be very clear to businesses that you have to be accessible. However, we don't believe that people should just go around filing lawsuits just to get the settlement." Small agencies and brokerages are particularly vulnerable to such shakedown lawsuits. As an agency owner, you should familiarize yourself with the issue and conduct a review of your website to ensure it meets accessibility requirements.
As this issue gains attention from state lawmakers, we may have the opportunity to share how independent agencies are being impacted. If you have been the target of a website accessibility lawsuit, we want to hear from you! Contact SHobson@BigINY.org.
|
| Insurance industry standards-setting organization ACORD has withdrawn its Electronic Delivery Supplement form, ACORD 68 (2016/06) and replaced it with ACORD 68 (2019/06), Electronic Delivery Supplement – Electronic Selection/Rejection Option Form. ACORD said the replacement was in response to state regulatory requirements. It specifically noted that the form has been filed and approved in Illinois. New York insurance law does not require ACORD to file this type of form with the state Department of Financial Services. According to ACORD's announcement: This form may be used to obtain consent from insureds prior to engaging in any electronic delivery of insurance policies and/or supporting documents in connection with the policy. The insured has the right to select electronic delivery, select electronic delivery and paper delivery, reject electronic delivery or withdraw a prior consent if the insured no longer wants to receive electronic delivery of the insurance policy and/or supporting documents in connection with the insurance policy.
The new form is for use on and after June 2019. What this means to you: If you were using the previous ACORD 68, you should cease using it immediately and begin using the new one in June. Big I New York has for years made a sample consent form available for its members to use. It can be found under the Helpful Tools category on the Electronic Policy Delivery page in the Answer Center of the Big I New York website. A consent form is also available in The Big I NY Big Book of Form Letters & Other E&O Tools, available for purchase and download from the website. |
| The governor and legislative leaders have reached an agreement on the 2019-20 state budget, and we are pleased to report that it does not include any provisions which would harm the independent agent community. Most significantly, a troubling proposal to increase the power of the DFS Superintendent, which Big I NY strongly opposed, was rejected in the final budget. DFS "Superpower" Provision Eliminated | BIG I NY OPPPOSED
A proposal in the governor's budget would have given the DFS Superintendent the "highest deference" in the regulation of insurance and his or her interpretations of the insurance law. Fortunately, this troubling proposal was rejected in the final budget Liability Minimums for Limos Increased | BIG I NY MONITORED Stretch limousines must now carry a combined single limit of at least $1.5 million in SUM coverage. Additionally, all for-hire vehicles with a seating capacity of eight or more passengers are now required to carry combined single liability limits of $1.5 million. The change will be effective January 1, 2020 and will apply to all policies issued, renewed, altered or modified on or after that date. Workers Compensation Board Authority Extended | BIG I NY MONITORED The authority of the workers' compensation board is extended to resolve medical bill disputes, simplify the dispute process, and expand the list of authorized providers for workers' compensation claimants. Autonomous Vehicles | BIG I NY MONITORED The authorization for testing of autonomous vehicles is extended for an additional two years.
|
Follow javascript: SP.SOD.executeFunc('followingcommon.js', 'FollowDoc', function() { FollowDoc('{ListId}', {ItemId}); }); 0x0 0x0 ContentType 0x01 1100 Item Audit Detail /_layouts/15/images/GORTL.GIF /newsfeed/_layouts/15/AuditingLog/ItemAudit.aspx?ItemId={ItemId}&ListId={ListId} 0x0 0x40000000 ContentType 0x01 300 Compliance Details javascript:if (typeof CalloutManager !== 'undefined' && Boolean(CalloutManager) && Boolean(CalloutManager.closeAll)) CalloutManager.closeAll(); commonShowModalDialog('{SiteUrl}'+
'/_layouts/15/itemexpiration.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}', 'center:1;dialogHeight:500px;dialogWidth:500px;resizable:yes;status:no;location:no;menubar:no;help:no', function GotoPageAfterClose(pageid){if(pageid == 'hold') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/hold.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;} if(pageid == 'audit') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/Reporting.aspx'
+'?Category=Auditing&backtype=item&ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;} if(pageid == 'config') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/expirationconfig.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;}}, null); 0x0 0x1 ContentType 0x01 898
|
|
|