NY Ins L § 3411 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ISC - Insurance Article 34 - Insurance Contracts-Property/casualty 3411 - Automobile Physical Damage Insurance Covering Private Passenger Automobiles; Standard Provisions; Required Inspections; Duties of Insurers and Insured

§   3411.   Automobile  physical  damage  insurance  covering  private passenger automobiles; standard provisions; required inspections; duties of insurers and insureds. (a) The provisions of this  section  shall  be applicable to all automobile physical damage insurance policies covering private  passenger automobiles registered in this state, notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter.  (b) In this article, "renewal" means the issuance and delivery  by  an insurer,  at  the  end  of  the policy period, of a policy superseding a policy previously issued and delivered  by  the  same  insurer,  or  the issuance and delivery of a certificate or notice extending the term of a policy beyond its policy period or term. Any policy with a policy period or term of less than one year shall, for the purpose of determining each renewal  date  in this section, be considered as if written for a policy period or term of one year commencing with the annual anniversary  date, and any policy written for a period or term of more than one year or any policy  with  no  fixed  expiration  date shall, for the purpose of this section, be considered as if written for successive  policy  periods  or terms of one year commencing with the annual anniversary date.  (c)  No  policy  providing  automobile  physical  damage insurance for private passenger automobiles registered in this state shall be  issued, delivered, or renewed unless it complies with this section.  (d)  A  newly  issued policy shall not provide coverage for automobile physical damage perils prior to an inspection of the automobile  by  the insurer.  (e)  For  a  renewal of a policy referred to in subsection (d) of this section, an insurer may require, as a condition of  such  renewal,  that the automobile be made available for inspection.  (f) If an insurer requests an inspection pursuant to subsection (e) of this  section,  the  insured  shall  make  the  automobile available for inspection by the insurer, upon reasonable notice. If the insured  fails to  make the automobile available for inspection, the insurer may refuse to continue such physical damage coverage.  (g) If an automobile subject to the  provisions  of  this  section  is acquired  by  the  insured  as  a  replacement  for or an addition to an automobile  insured  for  physical  damage  coverage,  and  the  insured requests  physical  damage  coverage  for  the replacement or additional automobile, such coverage for physical damage  shall  not  be  effective before  such inspection is made. If, at the time of the request for such coverage, the  automobile  is  unavailable  for  inspection  because  of conditions  of  purchase  or  other circumstances and is thereafter made available  for  inspection,  the  insurer  shall  promptly  inspect  the automobile,  and  physical  damage  coverage  shall not become effective before the inspection has been made.  (h) Where an inspection is made pursuant to this section, it shall  be conducted  by  the insurer or its authorized representative and shall be recorded on a form prescribed by the superintendent. Such form shall  be retained  by the insurer with its policy records for such insured, and a copy of such form shall be made available to the insured upon request.  (i) Payment of a physical damage claim shall not be  conditioned  upon the  repair  of  the  automobile,  provided,  however, the insured shall replace  any  inflatable  restraint  system  (airbag),  as  defined   in subparagraph (b) of S 4.1.5.1 of standard 208 of part 571 of title 49 of the code of federal regulations, that inflated and deployed, or that was stolen,  which  is  included  in  a  physical damage or theft claim. The insurer may request that the automobile be made available for inspection whether or not  the  automobile  is  repaired.    The  results  of  such inspection  may form a basis for determining the value of the automobile in the event of a subsequent loss.  If the automobile  is  repaired  the  insurer  shall  request the repair invoice and shall require the insured and the automobile repairer to  certify,  under  penalties  of  perjury, whether  the  applicable  deductible  has  been  paid  to the automobile repairer, whether any repairs have been made and whether the repairs did not include all items allowed by the insurer.  (j)  The  superintendent  may approve policy forms for physical damage coverage, for new and renewable business,  which  exclude  coverage  for specified items of personal property located in or upon the automobile.  (k) Each insurer which offers physical damage insurance subject to the provisions  of  this  section shall offer such insurance with a standard deductible of two hundred  dollars  for  each  occurrence.  The  insured shall,  however,  at  the  inception  of  the  policy  or  at the annual anniversary date, or at the time of the replacement or  addition  of  an automobile,  have  the  option  of  purchasing  a  policy  with a lesser deductible, but in no event  may  the  insurer  sell  a  policy  with  a deductible  of  less than fifty dollars for fire, theft or comprehensive insurance coverages (one hundred  dollars  for  assigned  risk  policies issued  pursuant  to  paragraph  two  of  subsection (a) of section five thousand three hundred three of this chapter) and  one  hundred  dollars for  collision  insurance coverage except that window glass coverage may be sold without a deductible.  Each insurer which offers physical damage insurance subject to the provisions of this  section  shall  also  offer physical  damage coverages with co-insurance or deductible provisions or combinations thereof as the superintendent may prescribe, including  but not  limited  to  deductibles of two hundred fifty dollars, five hundred dollars and one thousand dollars.  (l) Every insurer subject to the  provisions  of  this  section  shall report   to   the   commissioner  of  motor  vehicles  any  evidence  of overcharges, improper repairs or  adjustments  or  other  wrongdoing  by motor  vehicle  repair  shops,  in  order  that  the department of motor vehicles may properly discharge its responsibilities under  the  vehicle and  traffic  law  to  protect  consumers  from dishonest, deceptive and fraudulent practices in the repair of automobiles, to protect the public from improper repairs and to eliminate unqualified motor vehicle  repair shops.  (m) (1) The superintendent, in regulations implementing the provisions of  this  section,  shall  also  require  that insurers take appropriate action to  ensure  that  there  is  wide  public  dissemination  of  the provisions  of  this  section  relating to the rights and obligations of insureds and insurers.  (2) The inspections provided for in this section may be dispensed with or  deferred  under  circumstances  specified  in  regulations  of   the superintendent.  Such  circumstances may include but are not limited to, the insuring of a new automobile, the insuring of  an  automobile  whose inspection  would  constitute  a  serious  hardship  to the insurer, the insured or an applicant for insurance, and the insuring of an automobile for a limited specified period of time.  (3) Inspections made  pursuant  to  this  section  shall  be  made  at locations and times reasonably convenient to the insured. The results of any  inspection  may  be  considered  in  determining  the  value of the automobile.  (n) If the superintendent, after notice and hearing,  finds  that  any insurer  or  its authorized representative has violated any provision of this section, he shall order the payment of a  penalty,  not  to  exceed five  hundred  dollars for each such offense. Each issuance, procurement or negotiation of a policy of insurance in  violation  of  this  section shall be a separate offense.