Question from an IIABNY member: I have been under the impression that an accident can be surcharged by a carrier for up to 39 months from the date of the accident until the next renewal. One of our carriers told me it is able to surcharge for 64 months. Is the surchargeable period a matter of state law or department regulation and company filings?
Answer: New York law limits the time period for which insurers may surcharge for traffic violations, but I don’t see a similar limit for accidents. New York Insurance Law Section 2335 states:
No insurer authorized to transact or transacting business in this state, or controlling or controlled by or under common control by or with an insurer authorized to transact or transacting business in this state, which sells a policy providing motor vehicle liability insurance coverage in this state shall increase the policy premium in connection with the insurance permitted or required by this chapter solely because the insured or any other person who customarily operates an automobile covered by the policy:…
(b) has been found guilty of a traffic infraction under any of the provisions of the vehicle and traffic law provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to a conviction for a violation which occurred during the thirty-six month period ending on the last day of the fourth month preceding the month of the effective date of the policy if such conviction consisted of:
(1) operating a motor vehicle at a speed of more than fifteen miles per hour in excess of the legal limit;
(2) operating a motor vehicle in excess of the speed limit, or in a reckless manner, where injury or death results therefrom;
(3) operating a motor vehicle in excess of the speed limit, or reckless driving, or any combination thereof, on three or more occasions;
(4) operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or impaired by the consumption of alcohol;
(5) operating a motor vehicle while impaired by the use of a drug, within the meaning of section one thousand one hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law;
(6) homicide or assault arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle, or criminal negligence in the use or operation of a motor vehicle resulting in the injury or death of another person, or use or operation of a motor vehicle directly or indirectly in the commission of a felony;
(7) operating a motor vehicle while seeking to avoid apprehension or arrest by a law enforcement officer;
(8) filing or attempting to file a false or fraudulent automobile insurance claim, or knowingly aiding or abetting in the filing or attempted filing of any such claim;
(9) leaving the scene of an incident without reporting;
(10) filing a false document with the department of motor vehicles, or using a license or registration obtained by filing a false document with the department of motor vehicles;
(11) operating a motor vehicle in a race or speed test;
(12) knowingly permitting or authorizing an unlicensed driver to operate a motor vehicle insured under the policy;
(13) operating a motor vehicle insured under the policy without a valid license or registration in effect, except when the person convicted had possessed a valid license or registration which had expired and was subsequently renewed, or during a period of revocation or suspension thereof, or in violation of the limitations applicable to a license issued pursuant to article twenty-one or article twenty-one-a of the vehicle and traffic law; or
(14) two or more moving violations of any other provision of the vehicle and traffic law;
So, if a policy will be effective on January 1,2012, the insurer may surcharge for convictions for violations that occurred from Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2011. However, New York Insurance Regulation 100 does not place a time limit on surcharges for accidents. It appears that any time limitation for accidents would result from a carrier’s rate filing.
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