§ 3451 — Identity theft group insurance policies

New York § 3451

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law ISC: Insurance
• Art. 34: Insurance Contracts-property/casualty

Text

* § 3451. Identity theft group insurance policies. (a)(1) An identity\ntheft group insurance policy, and certificates thereunder, may be issued\nor delivered in this state only in accordance with the provisions of\nthis section.\n (2) An identity theft group insurance policy, and certificates\nthereunder, may be issued only by an authorized insurer.\n (3) The policy may be issued to:\n (A) an employer, or a trustee or trustees of the fund established by\nan employer, which employer or trustee shall be deemed the policyholder,\nwhere the policy insures the employees of the employer;\n (B) a labor union, or a trustee or trustees of a fund established by a\nlabor union, which labor union or trustee shall be deemed the\npolicyholder, where the policy insures the members of the labor union;\n (C) a trustee of a trust established, or participated in, by two or\nmore employers or labor unions, or by one or more employers and one or\nmore labor unions, which the trustee shall be deemed the policyholder,\nwhere the policy insures the employees of the employers, and the members\nof the labor unions;\n (D) a sponsor, where the policy insures account group members, as the\nterms are defined in subsection (a) of section three thousand four\nhundred forty-two of this article;\n (E) an association, or to a trustee or trustees of a fund established,\ncreated, or maintained for the benefit of one or more associations,\nwhich the association or trustee shall be deemed the policyholder; where\nall the eligible members of the association or associations have the\nsame profession, trade, or occupation, and the association or\nassociations have been organized and maintained in good faith for\npurposes principally other than that of obtaining insurance, and have\nbeen in active existence for at least two years, and where the policy\ninsures the members of the associations;\n (F) a business that sells services or products designed to prevent, or\nto minimize the effects of stolen identity events, which the business\nshall be deemed to be the policyholder, where the policy insures the\npersons that purchase the services or products;\n (G) any other business or association that has in its possession\nindividuals' personal identification information, where the policy\ninsures the individuals whose information the business or association\npossesses; or\n (H) any other entity where the superintendent has determined in a\nregulation that the members are engaged in a common enterprise, or have\nan economic or social affinity or relationship, and that the issuance of\nthe policy would not be contrary to the best interests of the public.\n (4) For purposes of this section, the term "employer" shall include\nsubsidiaries or affiliates of the employer.\n (b) The group shall consist only of natural persons, hereinafter\nreferred to as group members, as specified in paragraph three of\nsubsection (a) of this section, and may also include a member of the\ngroup member's immediate family or household or, where the group\npolicyholder is a sponsor, an authorized user, as the terms are defined\nin subsection (a) of section three thousand four hundred forty-two of\nthis chapter.\n (c)(1) The policy shall cover losses and expenses incurred because of\nstolen identity events, as defined in subparagraph (E) of paragraph\nseven of subsection (a) of section one thousand one hundred thirteen of\nthis chapter.\n (2) An insurer shall treat in a like manner all eligible group members\nof the same class.\n (3) Except for groups as described in subparagraph (F) of paragraph\nthree of subsection (a) of this section, a group member shall not be\nrequired to purchase any product or service to be eligible for the\ncoverage.\n (d) The premium for the group policy, including certificates, may be\npaid by the group policyholder from funds contributed: (1) wholly by the\ngroup policyholder; (2) wholly by the group members; or (3) jointly by\nthe group policyholder and the group members, except that with regard to\nsubparagraph (G) of paragraph three of subsection (a) of this section,\nthe premium for the group policy shall be paid from funds contributed\nwholly by the group policyholder.\n (e) A group identity theft insurance policy or certificate issued\nthereunder, shall not be subject to section three thousand four hundred\ntwenty-five or section three thousand four hundred twenty-six of this\narticle. The following requirements shall apply with regard to\ncancellation, nonrenewal, or conditional renewal of coverage:\n (1) Unless the group policy provides for a longer policy period, the\npolicy shall be issued or renewed for a one-year policy period.\n (2) A group policy, or any certificate thereunder, may be cancelled by\nan insurer only if cancellation is based upon one or more of the reasons\nset forth in paragraph one of subsection (c) of section three thousand\nfour hundred twenty-six of this article, provided, however, that an act\nor omission by a group member shall not constitute the basis for\ncancellation of the policy and provided further, that coverage for an\nindividual group member shall terminate upon termination of the member's\nemployment by, or other affiliation with, the group policyholder that\nconstitutes membership in the group.\n (3) An insurer's cancellation, nonrenewal, or conditional renewal of a\ngroup policy, or any certificate issued thereunder, shall not become\neffective until at least forty-five days, or twenty days if based upon\nnon-payment of premium, after the insurer mails or delivers written\nnotice of the cancellation or nonrenewal to the group policyholder at\nthe mailing address shown in the policy and to affected certificate\nholders at each certificate holder's last known mailing address. If so\nauthorized by the insurer, the group policyholder may mail or deliver\nthe notice to the certificate holder on behalf of the insurer. For\npurposes of this section, the term "conditional renewal" shall mean a\nrenewal that is conditioned upon change of limits, change in type of\ncoverage, reduction or elimination of coverage, increased deductible or\naddition of exclusion, or increased premiums in excess of ten percent\n(exclusive of any premium increase generated as a result of increased\nexposure units or as a result of experience rating, loss rating,\nretrospective rating, or audit).\n (4) Every notice of cancellation, nonrenewal, or conditional renewal\nshall set forth the specific reason or reasons for cancellation,\nnonrenewal, or conditional renewal.\n (5) A group policyholder may cancel the group policy for any reason\nupon thirty days written notice to the insurer and each affected group\nmember. A group policyholder shall not be required to give notice to a\ngroup member if substantially similar coverage has been obtained from\nanother insurer without lapse of coverage.\n (6) If prior to the effective date of cancellation, nonrenewal, or\nconditional renewal of the group policy, or cancellation, nonrenewal,\nconditional renewal or termination of a certificate, whether initiated\nby the insurer, group policyholder, or by the group member, with respect\nto the group member's certificate, a group member sustains an identity\ntheft loss, the loss shall remain covered in accordance with the\ncoverage provided under the policy, notwithstanding the cancellation,\nnonrenewal, conditional renewal, or termination.\n (f) The superintendent may promulgate regulations pertaining to\nidentity theft group insurance, including regulations regarding:\npayments of dividends or retrospective premium refunds; minimum\nprovisions; minimum number of group members; and other reasonable\nlimitations.\n * NB There are 2 § 3451's\n