The New York Insurance Department’s Office of General Counsel issued the following advisory legal opinions in August:
· An unauthorized insurer, approved by the U.S. Treasury Department, is doing an insurance business if it issues surety bonds for the benefit of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection ("Customs") where a non-resident insurance agent supplies the custom house broker with pre-signed surety bonds and the custom house broker negotiates the terms of the bond with the principal in New York. Neither a non-resident agent nor a custom house broker may aid an unauthorized insurer in effecting insurance in New York.
· A New York authorized property/casualty insurer may issue a commercial motor vehicle liability insurance policy in New York to an independently owned and operated livery cab owner that operates in New York, when the cab owner resides in New Jersey or Connecticut.
· Broker advertisements that announce “lowest available rates” without referring to specific insurance companies or providing the cities where they have their principal offices violate the insurance law.
· A New York licensed broker may not place insurance coverage that includes coverage for punitive damages in the excess line market on risks located in New York, nor may she lawfully hire a third party to do so.
The Department posted these and other opinions in August. Visit the Department’s Web site to find any opinion issued since 2000.
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