BILL NUMBER: S9517
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to notifying an insured
of a rate filing increase for long term care
 
PURPOSE OF BILL:
To ensure that long term care insurance policy holders are timely noti-
fied by their insurance provider when that provider seeks to increase
premium rates, by requiring the provider to send notification of the
rate filing to the insured at the time of the filing, together with
instructions on how to submit comments on the rate filing to the Depart-
ment of Financial Services, and also to ensure that prospective policy-
holders are informed of this requirement.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends paragraph 6 of subsection b of section 1117 of the
insurance law to add a new subparagraph 0-1 requiring long term care
insurance providers to provide prospective insureds with a statement
that if the provider seeks to increase premium rates, the provider will
send notification of the rate filing to the insured, along with
instructions on how to submit comments to the Department of Financial
Services.
Section 2 amends subsection i of section 1117 of the insurance law to
require long term care insurance providers to send notification of the
rate filing to the policy holder at the time of the filing, together
with clear instructions on how to submit comments on the rate filing to
the Department of Financial Services.
Section 3 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Chapter 655 of the laws of 2023 amended section 1117 of the insurance
law to require that certain notices be posted and provided regarding
long term care insurance policy changes. Among other provisions, the
2023 law required that the Superintendent of Financial Services post
notice of rate filings submitted by long term care insurance carriers on
the Department of Financial Service's website within fourteen days of
the rate filing. The law also amended section 1117 to require that the
insurance carrier provide notice of approval, disapproval, or modifica-
tion of the rate filing to the policy holder no later than ninety days
prior to the effective date of a premium rate increase.
Although notice of rate filings are posted on the Department's website,
it is often not until a rate increase is approved and notice of the
increase is sent by the carrier to the policy holder that the policy
holder becomes aware of the rate increase application, by which time it
is too late to weigh in with the Department.
This bill would ensure that policyholders are made aware of any rate
increase application with sufficient time to provide comments to the
Department of Financial Service before any rate increase is approved.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S9517: 1117 insurance law, 1117(b) insurance law, 1117(i) insurance law