§ 3111 — Special provisions relating to senior citizens

§ 3111. Special provisions relating to senior citizens. (a) Every\ninsurer that has in force any policy of insurance subject to the\nprovisions of section three thousand four hundred twenty-five of this\nchapter shall permit senior citizen insureds to designate a third party\nto whom the insurer shall transmit notices of cancellation, nonrenewal\nand conditional renewal. The senior citizen insured shall notify the\ninsurer that a third party has been so designated. Such notification\nshall be delivered to the insurer by certified mail, return receipt\nrequested, and shall be effective not later than ten business days from\nthe date of receipt by the insurer. The notification must contain, in\nwriting, an acceptance by the third party designee to receive notices of\ncancellation, nonrenewal and conditional renewal from the insurer.\nShould the third party designee desire to terminate his or her status as\na third party designee, such designee shall provide written notice to\nboth the insurer and the senior citizen insured. Should the senior\ncitizen insured desire to terminate the third party designation, the\ninsured shall provide written notice to the insurer. The transmission to\nthe third party designee of any notice of cancellation, nonrenewal or\nconditional renewal shall be in addition to a copy of such document\ntransmitted to the senior citizen insured and when a third party is so\ndesignated all such notices shall be mailed in an envelope clearly\nmarked on its face with the following: "IMPORTANT INSURANCE POLICY\nINFORMATION: OPEN IMMEDIATELY". Designation as a third party shall not\nconstitute acceptance of any liability on the third party for services\nprovided to such senior citizen. The insurer shall notify its senior\ncitizen insureds annually in writing of the availability of the third\nparty designee notice procedure and provide information on how the\ninsured can commence this procedure, however, such notice need not be\nprovided once a senior citizen has made a designation.\n (b) Every insurer that has in force a premium paying individual life\ninsurance policy on the life of a senior citizen insured, who has made a\ndesignation in accordance with paragraph one of subsection (b) of\nsection three thousand two hundred eleven of this chapter, shall upon\nappropriate notification as described herein, provide such senior\ncitizen with a copy of the notice of cancellation for nonpayment of\npremiums before the lapse date of the policy. The senior citizen insured\nshall notify the insurer that in addition to the person designated in\naccordance with paragraph one of subsection (b) of section three\nthousand two hundred eleven of this chapter, a copy of such notices of\ncancellation shall be transmitted to the senior citizen insured and when\na third party is so designated all such notices shall be mailed in an\nenvelope clearly marked on its face with the following: "IMPORTANT\nINSURANCE POLICY INFORMATION: OPEN IMMEDIATELY". Such notification to\nthe insurer shall be in writing delivered to the insurer by certified\nmail, return receipt requested and shall be effective not later than ten\nbusiness days from the date of receipt by the insurer. Should the senior\ncitizen insured desire to terminate receipt of such notices of\ncancellation, such senior citizen shall provide written notice to the\ninsurer. The insurer shall at the time the senior citizen insured makes\na designation in accordance with paragraph one of subsection (b) of\nsection three thousand two hundred eleven of this chapter inform the\nsenior citizen in writing about the notice procedure and provide\ninformation on how the insured can commence this procedure.\n (c) Every insurer, corporation organized under article forty-three of\nthis chapter or organization certified pursuant to article forty-four of\nthe public health law that has in force a health insurance policy or\nmedicare supplemental insurance policy as defined in section three\nthousand two hundred eighteen of this chapter the premiums for which are\npaid directly to the insurer by the senior citizen insured shall permit\nsenior citizen insureds to designate a third party to whom the insurer\nshall transmit notices of nonpayment of premiums due or notice of\ncancellation for nonpayment of premiums, as determined by the insurer.\nThe senior citizen shall notify the insurer that a third party has been\nso designated. Such notification shall be delivered to the insurer by\ncertified mail, return receipt requested, and shall be effective not\nlater than ten business days from the date of receipt by the insurer.\nThe notification must contain, in writing, an acceptance by the third\nparty designee to receive such notices of cancellation. Should the third\nparty designee desire to terminate his or her status as a third party\ndesignee, such designee shall provide written notice to both the insurer\nand the senior citizen insured. Should the senior citizen insured desire\nto terminate the third party designation, the insured shall provide\nwritten notice to the insurer. The transmission to the third party\ndesignee of any such notice of cancellation shall be in addition to a\ncopy of such document transmitted to the senior citizen insured and when\na third party is so designated all such notices shall be mailed in an\nenvelope clearly marked on its face with the following: "IMPORTANT\nINSURANCE POLICY INFORMATION: OPEN IMMEDIATELY". Designation as a third\nparty shall not constitute acceptance of any liability on the third\nparty for services provided to such senior citizen. The insurer shall\nnotify its senior citizen insureds annually in writing of the\navailability of the third party designee notice procedure and provide\ninformation on how the insured can commence this procedure; however,\nsuch notice need not be provided once a senior citizen has made a\ndesignation.\n (d) In the case of a medicare supplemental insurance policy as defined\nin section three thousand two hundred eighteen of this chapter offered\nby or through a group the premiums for which are paid to the insurer by\nthe group policyholder or group remitting agent, the group policyholder\nor group remitting agent shall permit senior citizen insureds to\ndesignate a third party to whom the group policyholder or group\nremitting agent shall transmit notices of nonpayment of premiums due or\nnotice of cancellation for nonpayment of premiums, as determined by the\ngroup policyholder or group remitting agent. The senior citizen shall\nnotify the group policyholder or group remitting agent that a third\nparty has been so designated. Such notification shall be delivered to\nthe group policyholder or group remitting agent by mail, and shall be\neffective not later than ten business days from the date of receipt by\nthe group policyholder or group remitting agent. The notification must\ncontain, in writing, an acceptance by the third party designee to\nreceive such notices of cancellation. Should the third party designee\ndesire to terminate his or her status as a third party designee, such\ndesignee shall provide written notice to both the group policyholder or\ngroup remitting agent and the senior citizen insured. Should the senior\ncitizen insured desire to terminate the third party designation, the\ninsured shall provide written notice to the group policyholder or group\nremitting agent. The transmission to the third party designee of any\nsuch notice of cancellation shall be in addition to a copy of such\ndocument transmitted to the senior citizen insured and when a third\nparty is so designated all such notices shall be mailed in an envelope\nclearly marked on its face with the following: "IMPORTANT INSURANCE\nPOLICY INFORMATION: OPEN IMMEDIATELY". Designation as a third party\nshall not constitute acceptance of any liability on the third party for\nservices provided to such senior citizen. The group policyholder or\ngroup remitting agent shall notify its senior citizen insureds annually\nin writing of the availability of the third party designee notice\nprocedure and provide information on how the insured can commence this\nprocedure; however, such notice need not be provided once a senior\ncitizen has made a designation.\n (e) Every insurer that has in force a long-term care insurance policy\nas defined in section one thousand one hundred seventeen of this chapter\nthe premiums for which are paid directly to the insurer by the senior\ncitizen insured, except a policy that qualifies as a long-term care\ninsurance contract as defined in Section 7702B of the Internal Revenue\nCode, shall permit senior citizen insureds to designate a third party to\nwhom the insurer shall transmit notices of nonpayment of premiums due or\nnotice of cancellation for nonpayment of premiums; provided that notice\nof cancellation for nonpayment of premium shall be sent no later than\nthirty days before the effective date of such cancellation. The senior\ncitizen insured shall notify the insurer that a third party has been so\ndesignated. Such notification shall be delivered to the insurer either\nin the same envelope as the senior citizen insured's premium payment or\nby certified mail, return receipt requested, and shall be effective not\nlater than ten business days from the date of receipt by the insurer.\nThe notification must contain, in writing, an acceptance by the third\nparty designee to receive such notices of cancellation. Should the third\nparty designee desire to terminate his or her status as a third party\ndesignee, such designee shall provide written notice to both the insurer\nand the senior citizen insured. Should the senior citizen insured desire\nto terminate the third party designation, the insured shall provide\nwritten notice to the insurer. The transmission to the third party\ndesignee of any such notice of cancellation shall be in addition to a\ncopy of such document transmitted to the senior citizen insured and when\na third party is so designated all such notices shall be mailed in an\nenvelope clearly marked on its face with the following: "IMPORTANT\nINSURANCE POLICY INFORMATION: OPEN IMMEDIATELY". Designation as a third\nparty shall not constitute acceptance of any liability on the third\nparty for services provided to such senior citizen. The insurer shall\nnotify its senior citizen insureds not less than annually in writing of\nthe availability of the third party designee notice procedure and\nprovide information on how the insured can commence this procedure. If a\nsenior citizen insured has not made a third party designation, the\ninsurer shall include a copy of the third party designation form with\neach premium statement sent to the senior citizen insured. If a senior\ncitizen insured has made a designation, the insurer shall confirm with\nthe senior citizen insured that the third party designee's contact\ninformation is correct. Upon receipt of a designation or termination of\na designation, the insurer shall verify the designation or cancellation\nof designation with the senior citizen insured. Such verification may,\nbut is not required to be, written and the insurer may use telephony to\nobtain an oral confirmation from the senior citizen insured so long as\nthe insurer provides the senior citizen insured with written\nconfirmation of the oral verification.\n (f) For purposes of this section, "senior citizen insured" shall mean\na New York resident who is the policyowner or the insured and is age\nsixty-five or older. The superintendent may promulgate regulations\nnecessary to carry out the purposes of this section.\n