2023 New York Laws › GBS - General Business › Article 40 - Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Programs › 901 - Requirements for Doing Business.

§  901. Requirements for doing business. 1. No shared vehicle shall be
classified as a commercial  vehicle,  for-hire  vehicle,  transportation
network company or TNC vehicle as defined in article forty-four-B of the
vehicle  and traffic law, taxi-cab, rental vehicle as defined in section
one hundred thirty-seven-a of the vehicle and  traffic  law,  or  livery
vehicle  solely  because the shared vehicle owner allows such vehicle to
be used for peer-to-peer car sharing, or as such for the duration of the
car sharing period, provided that: (a) the peer-to-peer car  sharing  is
compliant  with  a  peer-to-peer car sharing program as provided in this
article; (b) if the car sharing program does not prohibit shared vehicle
drivers from using shared vehicles for commercial  uses,  the  insurance
maintained by the car sharing program does not exclude coverage for such
commercial  uses;  and  (c)  the  car sharing program does not knowingly
place the shared vehicle into use  as  a  commercial  vehicle  or  as  a
vehicle  for-hire  or  as  a transportation network company vehicle by a
shared vehicle driver while engaged in peer-to-peer car sharing,  unless
the shared vehicle driver or owner, as applicable, is in compliance with
other laws applied to the commercial use or to use as a vehicle for-hire
or as a transportation network company vehicle.
2.  A  peer-to-peer  car  sharing  program  administrator, during each
peer-to-peer  car  sharing  period  for  each  shared  vehicle  that  it
facilitates  the  use  and  operation  of, shall maintain insurance that
provides financial responsibility coverage as follows:
(a)  provide  insurance  coverage   that   satisfies   the   financial
responsibility  requirements  set  forth  in section three thousand four
hundred twenty of the insurance law, article fifty-one of the  insurance
law and such other requirements, rules or regulations that may apply for
the  purposes  of  satisfying  the financial responsibility requirements
with respect to the use or operation of a motor vehicle;
(b) maintain additional insurance  against  loss  from  the  liability
imposed  by  law  for  damages  during the car sharing period, including
damages for care and loss of services, because of bodily  injury  to  or
death of any person and injury to or destruction of property arising out
of  the  ownership, maintenance, use or operation of a specific personal
vehicle or vehicles within the state, or elsewhere in the United  States
or  Canada,  subject  to  a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, with
respect to each such occurrence, of at least  one  million  two  hundred
fifty  thousand  dollars  because  of  bodily  injury to or death of any
person, and injury to or destruction of property;
(c) provide coverage in accordance  with  subsection  (f)  of  section
three  thousand  four  hundred  twenty  of  the insurance law, providing
supplementary  uninsured/underinsured  motorist  insurance  for   bodily
injury,  subject  to a limit per occurrence in the amount of one million
two hundred fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury or death  of
any person;
(d)  the  insurance  required  under  this  subdivision  need  not  be
coterminous with the registration period of the shared vehicle  insured;
and
(e)  For  purposes of article fifty-one of the insurance law, 11 NYCRR
Part 65 and general liability  claims,  notice  to  the  shared  vehicle
owner,   shared   vehicle   driver,  peer-to-peer  car  sharing  program
administrator, or any  insurer  of  the  shared  vehicle  owner,  shared
vehicle driver, or peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator of any
claim  shall  be  deemed notice to all appropriate parties and insurers.
Any shared  vehicle  owner,  shared  vehicle  driver,  peer-to-peer  car
sharing  program  administrator,  or  any  insurer of the shared vehicle
owner, shared  vehicle  driver,  or  peer-to-peer  car  sharing  program

administrator  receiving  such  notice  shall provide such notice to all
appropriate parties.
3.  The  insurance  requirements  provided  in subdivision two of this
section may be satisfied by insurance provided through  a  group  policy
maintained  by the peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator on the
shared vehicle, shared vehicle owner, and shared vehicle driver pursuant
to this article. Provided that  the  peer-to-peer  car  sharing  program
administrator's group liability insurance policy shall be primary during
each  car  sharing  period, pursuant to section nine hundred two of this
article, nothing shall be deemed to preclude an insurer  from  providing
excess  or  umbrella  coverage  for  the  shared vehicle owner or shared
vehicle driver if such shared vehicle owner  or  shared  vehicle  driver
chooses to do so by contract or endorsement.
4. A peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator shall, during each
peer-to-peer  car  sharing  period  for  each  shared  vehicle  that  it
facilitates the use and operation of, perform the following:
(a) provide shared vehicle owners with  proof  of  insurance  coverage
satisfying subdivision two of this section and such shared vehicle owner
or  shared vehicle driver shall carry such proof of coverage with him or
her at all times during his or her operation of a shared vehicle  during
a  peer-to-peer  car  sharing period. Such proof of coverage shall be in
such form as the commissioner of motor vehicles shall  prescribe,  which
may  be  in  the  form of an insurance identification card as defined in
section three hundred  eleven  of  the  vehicle  and  traffic  law.  Any
insurance  identification card issued pursuant to the provisions of this
article shall be  in  addition  to  the  insurance  identification  card
required  pursuant  to  article  six of the vehicle and traffic law, and
nothing contained in this article  shall  be  deemed  to  supersede  the
provisions  of  article six of the vehicle and traffic law. Whenever the
production of an insurance identification card is  required  by  law,  a
shared  vehicle  owner  or  shared vehicle driver shall: (i) produce the
insurance identification card pursuant to article six of the vehicle and
traffic law; and (ii) if such shared vehicle  owner  or  shared  vehicle
driver  was  operating  such  vehicle  during a peer-to-peer car sharing
period, such shared vehicle owner or shared vehicle  driver  shall  also
produce  the  insurance  identification  card  required pursuant to this
article. A shared vehicle owner or  shared  vehicle  driver  who,  while
operating a shared vehicle during a peer-to-peer car sharing period, has
in  effect the insurance required pursuant to this article, shall not be
deemed to be in violation of insurance requirements under article six of
the vehicle and traffic law during such time as he or she was  operating
such vehicle during such period.
(b)  provide  the  following  for each shared vehicle driver, for each
peer-to-peer car sharing period:
(i) an insurance identification card as defined in subdivision ten  of
section  three  hundred  eleven of the vehicle and traffic law, or other
documentation, whether printed or electronic, which the  shared  vehicle
driver shall carry and have available in the vehicle at all times during
the  peer-to-peer  car  sharing period and clearly demonstrates that the
security insurance referred to in subdivision two of this section is  in
full force and effect; and
(ii)  a  toll-free  number,  electronic  mail,  or  other such form of
communication by which a law enforcement police officer,  representative
of  the  department of motor vehicles, or other officer of this state or
any political subdivision thereof with relevant job responsibilities may
confirm that the insurance provided  for  in  subdivision  two  of  this
section is in full force and effect.
(c) collect, maintain, and make available to the shared vehicle owner,
the  shared  vehicle  owner's primary motor vehicle liability insurer in
connection with a claimed loss,  the  shared  vehicle  driver's  primary
motor  vehicle  liability insurer in connection with a claimed loss, any
excess  or  umbrella  insurers  in connection with a claimed loss, third
parties directly involved in  motor  vehicle  incidents  with  a  shared
vehicle  in connection with a claimed loss, and any government agency as
required by law, within ten business days of a request, or as reasonably
practicable thereafter the following information pertaining to incidents
which occurred during the peer-to-peer car sharing period:
(i) available records of the peer-to-peer car sharing period for  each
shared  vehicle  involved,  and  to  the  extent  available,  verifiable
electronic records of the time,  initial  and  final  locations  of  the
vehicle, and, to the extent mileage is collected, miles driven;
(ii) in instances where an insurance claim has been filed with a group
insurer,  all  information  relevant  to  the  claim, to the extent such
information is available, including but not limited to, payments by  the
program concerning accidents, damages and injuries; and
(iii) For purposes of article fifty-one of the insurance law, 11 NYCRR
Part  65  and  general  liability  claims,  notice to the shared vehicle
owner,  shared  vehicle  driver,  peer-to-peer   car   sharing   program
administrator,  or  any  insurer  of  the  shared  vehicle owner, shared
vehicle driver, or peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator of any
claim shall be deemed notice to all appropriate  parties  and  insurers.
Any  shared  vehicle  owner,  shared  vehicle  driver,  peer-to-peer car
sharing program administrator, or any  insurer  of  the  shared  vehicle
owner,  shared  vehicle  driver,  or  peer-to-peer  car  sharing program
administrator receiving such notice shall provide  such  notice  to  all
appropriate parties.
(d) ensure that the shared vehicle owner and shared vehicle driver are
given  reasonable notice prior to the first use or operation of a shared
vehicle pursuant to a peer-to-peer car sharing program agreement that:
(i) during the peer-to-peer car sharing  period,  the  shared  vehicle
owner's  policy  of liability insurance or other motor vehicle insurance
may exclude any and all coverage afforded under the policy, provided the
shared vehicle owner's insurer notified its insured that it  shall  have
no  duty  to  indemnify or defend any person or entity for liability for
any loss, death, or injury  that  occurs  during  the  peer-to-peer  car
sharing period; and
(ii)  any  insurance or physical damage protection offered pursuant to
paragraph (b) of subdivision  two  of  this  section  or  section  three
thousand  four  hundred  fifty-eight  of the insurance law, shall not be
valid or collectible for damages, losses, deaths, or injuries that occur
outside of the peer-to-peer car sharing period.
(e) ensure that the shared vehicle owner acknowledges upon  or  before
enrollment  in  a  peer-to-peer  car sharing program, and is notified in
plain conspicuous language before each car sharing  period,  that  state
law  may  impose  liability for injuries to person or property resulting
from the negligence in the use or operation of  the  shared  vehicle  by
shared  vehicle  drivers  for judgments exceeding the coverage limits of
insurance in effect during the car sharing period. The subsequent notice
required under this subsection may be provided electronically, including
by electronic mail and  hyperlink  to  a  website  explaining  insurance
coverages  and  vicarious liability or other substantially similar means
of notice.
5. At the time a vehicle is enrolled in the peer-to-peer  car  sharing
program,  the  peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator shall file
with the commissioner of motor vehicles, in such form and manner as such

commissioner may require, a statement identifying the shared vehicle and
proof of a group policy applicable to such shared  vehicle  pursuant  to
section  three  thousand  four  hundred  seven of the insurance law. The
commissioner of motor vehicles shall identify the vehicle as enrolled in
the peer-to-peer car sharing program and provide proof of a group policy
applicable  to such shared vehicle pursuant to the insurance law in such
vehicle or registration record in a manner  accessible  to  the  public.
Failure  of  a  peer-to-peer car sharing program administrator to comply
with the provisions of this article may result in penalties.
6. (a) Except as provided in paragraph  (b)  of  this  subdivision,  a
group  policy  maintained  by  a program shall be placed with an insurer
authorized to write insurance in this state.
(b) If a program is unable to purchase a  group  policy  because  such
insurance  is  unavailable  from  authorized  insurers,  the program may
acquire such group insurance with an  excess  line  broker  pursuant  to
section two thousand one hundred eighteen of the insurance law;
(c) The obligation to determine whether the insurance required by this
section  is  unavailable  from insurers authorized to write insurance in
this state shall be made prior to the  initial  placement  and  at  each
renewal of a policy.
(d)  Compliance  with the excess line statutes and regulations of this
state shall be performed with respect to the group as a  whole  and  not
with respect to individual group members.
(e)  A  group  policy provided for in this section shall not include a
mandatory arbitration  clause  in  a  policy  issued  pursuant  to  this
section.  Nothing  in  this section supersedes the mandatory arbitration
requirements contained in section five thousand one hundred five of  the
insurance law.
7.  A  peer-to-peer  car  sharing  program  administrator  shall, upon
entering into a peer-to-peer car sharing agreement with a shared vehicle
owner and prior to the shared vehicle  owner  making  a  shared  vehicle
available   for   sharing  in  the  program,  provide  notice  in  plain
conspicuous language to the shared vehicle owner that he or she may need
additional insurance coverage including motor  vehicle  physical  damage
coverage as described in paragraph nineteen of subsection (a) of section
one  thousand  one  hundred  thirteen of the insurance law if the shared
vehicle is subject to a lease or loan. A program shall  also  post  this
notice  on  its  website  in  a  prominent  place  and  provide  contact
information for the department of financial services.