STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2414 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 26, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DILAN, GLICK, SIMON, STECK, DeSTEFANO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Insurance AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to public adjuster disclosures and financial or ownership interests The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subsection (s) of section 2108 of the insurance law, as 2 added by chapter 546 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 3 (s) (1) (A) Every public adjuster shall have an affirmative duty to 4 act on behalf and in the best interests of the insured when negotiating 5 for or effecting the settlement of an insurance claim for the insured or 6 otherwise acting as a public adjuster. 7 (B) In the event of a claim, an adjuster working on behalf of an 8 insurance company must disclose in its initial written and verbal commu- 9 nication with the insured the following statement: 10 "I am an insurance company adjuster working on behalf of the insurance 11 company. I do not represent your interests, I represent theirs. You 12 have the right to hire your own licensed Public Adjuster who would 13 represent your interests exclusively, for a fee, and who owes you, their 14 client, a fiduciary responsibility." 15 (2) (A) No public adjuster shall receive any compensation, either 16 directly or indirectly, for a referral of the insured to an individual 17 or entity for services, work or repairs, relating to any insurance claim 18 for which the public adjuster represents the insured or has negotiated 19 or effected a settlement, unless the compensation is prominently and 20 clearly disclosed to the insured in the written memorandum described in 21 subsection (p) of this section. Any such compensation received shall be 22 deemed to be compensation from the insured and, in combination with any 23 other compensation received from the insured, shall not exceed the maxi- 24 mum amount that the adjuster may charge in accordance with the regu- 25 lations required pursuant to subsection (p) of this section. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03244-01-3
A. 2414 2 1 (B) No public adjuster who has a financial or ownership interest in 2 the individual or entity that performs the services, work, or repairs, 3 shall refer the insured to the individual or entity [unless the finan- 4 cial or ownership interest is prominently and clearly disclosed to the 5 insured in the written memorandum described in subsection (p) of this 6 section]. If a public adjuster refers an insured to an individual who 7 is related to the individual by blood or affinity to the second degree 8 of consanguinity, or to an entity owned or controlled by such an indi- 9 vidual, for services, work, or repairs, relating to any insurance claim 10 for which the public adjuster represents the insured or has negotiated 11 or effected a settlement, then the public adjuster shall disclose the 12 relationship to the insured in the written memorandum described in 13 subsection (p) of this section. 14 (C) No individual or entity that performs services, work, or repairs 15 may perform the services, work, or repairs relating to any insurance 16 claim for which a public adjuster represents the insured or has negoti- 17 ated or effected a settlement where such public adjuster has a financial 18 or ownership interest in such individual or entity that performs the 19 services, work, or repairs. 20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 21 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.