SAMPLE LETTER THAT YOU CAN USE TO WRITE TO YOUR STATE SENATOR

Please insert your information in the [Brackets].

Anything in (Parentheses) remains as is in the letter.

[Today’s Date]

The Honorable [First name] [Last name] 

[Use Senate District Office Addresses]

RE: S.2627 (Sanders) / A.603 (D. Rosenthal): Repeals section 3403 of the insurance law relating to anti-arson applications

Dear Senator [Last name]:

My name is [your first and last name] and I am an independent insurance [agent/broker]. My company/insurance agency, [Provide name and address] is in your Senate District.

I am in support of the referenced legislation to repeal of Insurance Law Section 3403 requiring anti-arson application forms to accompany property insurance policies covering fire and explosion risks issued and renewed in New York City because:

• Many insureds either forget or simply fail to complete the form in time, not due to fraudulent activity, but simply due to an administrative lapse by the property owner.
• When an agent, broker or insurer fails to receive the completed and signed application, the law requires the insurer to cancel the policy, which creates a significant unnecessary expense and gaps in coverage for the named insured.
• The need for the application was made irrelevant by legislation enacted in 1996, which requires insurers to file plans with the Department of Financial Services (DFS) regarding how they intend to detect, investigate and prevent fraudulent insurance activities. Since then, insurers have engaged in fraud prevention methods, such as Special Investigations Units (SIUs), which are far more effective than the application form. Currently, New York City is the only municipality in the state in which insureds are required to complete the anti-arson application.  (The law has recently been repealed in both the cities of Rochester and Buffalo.)

Thus, passage of S.2627 / A.603 to repeal Section 3403 would greatly benefit your constituents by lessening potential gaps in their insurance coverage and the unnecessary costs due to those gaps. 

A.603 unanimously passed the Assembly in 2021 and was just unanimously passed by the Assembly again in 2022.  The Senate “same as” companion bill, S.2627, is currently committed to the Senate Insurance Committee.

Please add your name as a co-sponsor of S.2627 (Sanders) and then contact Senate Insurance Committee Chair Neil Breslin to report the bill from the committee, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to pass the bill in the Senate without delay. 

Sincerely,

[SIGN YOUR NAME]

[Print your name]