A 3842: Establishes the insure our communities act to implement climate leadership and community protection act targets for insurers; identifies and protects such communities; relates to affordability of insurance rates; assesses covered insurance companies' record of performance at meeting insurance needs; requires covered insurance companies to file statistical reports, including information on insurance coverage in specific assessment areas and disadvantaged communities.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3842 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 30, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. FORREST -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Insurance AN ACT to amend the insurance law and the financial services law, in relation to establishing the insuring our future act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The insurance law is amended by adding a new article 92 to 2 read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 92 4 INSURING OUR FUTURE ACT 5 Section 9201. Short title. 6 9202. Definitions. 7 9203. Implementing climate leadership and community protection 8 act targets for insurers. 9 9204. Reporting. 10 § 9201. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as 11 the "insuring our future act". 12 § 9202. Definitions. In this article, unless the context or subject 13 matter otherwise requires: 14 (a) "New fossil fuel project" means a project designed to facilitate 15 the production of fossil fuels in excess of what is in development as of 16 the effective date of this article, including production of new coal 17 infrastructure, power plants, or mines. "New fossil fuel project" also 18 includes projects that would support exploring new oil and gas fields or 19 otherwise expanding oil and gas reserves. Examples of such projects 20 include, but are not limited to, new wells, pipelines, terminals or gas 21 power plants. 22 (b) "Department" means the department of financial services. 23 (c) "Superintendent" means the superintendent of the department of 24 financial services. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00753-02-5 
 A. 3842 2 1 (d) "Precautionary principle" means an approach taken to regulation 2 which mandates that when activities under consideration may lead to 3 unacceptably serious or irreversible harm that is scientifically plausi- 4 ble but uncertain, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that 5 harm. 6 (e) "Guidance" means the department guidance for New York domestic 7 insurers on managing the financial risks from climate change issued by 8 the department of financial services. 9 § 9203. Implementing climate leadership and community protection act 10 targets for insurers. (a) The department shall: 11 (1) Integrate the precautionary principle into its regulation and 12 supervision of insurers by: 13 (A) incorporating measures to anticipate, prevent, or minimize the 14 effects of climate risk and its adverse effects; and 15 (B) implementing cost-effective measures to address the climate risk 16 exposure of insurers, even in the absence of full economic or scientific 17 certainty; 18 (2) Align insurer investment and underwriting activities with 19 science-based climate mitigation targets consistent with the emissions 20 limits set in section 75-0107 of the environmental conservation law by 21 prohibiting underwriting for any new fossil fuel project and directing 22 insurers to phase out existing underwriting for exploration, extraction, 23 processing, exporting, transporting, and any other significant action 24 with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any byproduct thereof; and 25 (3) Develop a process for insurance companies to certify as a condi- 26 tion of licensure that they meet certain criteria related to their 27 investment and underwriting activity, and to review their certification. 28 (b) Within twelve months of the effective date of this article, the 29 superintendent shall develop and implement criteria for certain insurers 30 doing business in this state, as determined by the superintendent pursu- 31 ant to subsection (f) of this section, to submit annually to the super- 32 intendent a report disclosing: 33 (1) Such insurer's investments in: 34 (A) any company that derives ten percent or more of revenue from 35 exploration, extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any 36 other significant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any 37 byproduct thereof; 38 (B) any project intended to facilitate or expand exploration, 39 extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any other signif- 40 icant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any byproduct 41 thereof; and 42 (C) any project intended to construct any infrastructure related to 43 projects under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, such as wells, pipe- 44 lines, terminals or refineries; 45 (2) The financed emissions from all of the insurer's investments in 46 the previous reporting year; 47 (3) Information concerning such insurer's gross premium underwriting 48 for: 49 (A) any company that derives ten percent or more of revenue from 50 exploration, extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any 51 other significant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any 52 byproduct thereof; 53 (B) any project intended to facilitate or expand exploration, 54 extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any other signif- 55 icant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any byproduct 56 thereof; and 
 A. 3842 3 1 (C) any project intended to construct any infrastructure related 2 projects under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, such as wells, pipe- 3 lines, terminals or refineries; 4 (4) The insured emissions from all of the insurer's underwriting in 5 the previous reporting year; 6 (5) Aggregated data on homeowners and renters premiums, claims, deduc- 7 tibles and overall insurance exposures, at a census-tract level, in a 8 manner that does not risk public disclosure of personally identifiable 9 information of policyholders; and 10 (6) Any other information the department deems necessary to effec- 11 tively implement and enforce any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant 12 to this article. 13 (c) The criteria developed by the superintendent pursuant to 14 subsection (b) of this section shall enable the superintendent to post 15 the information reported to the superintendent pursuant to subsection 16 (d) of this section on the department's website. 17 (d) Within twelve months of the effective date of this article, and 18 annually thereafter, such insurers doing business in this state, as 19 determined by the superintendent subject to subsection (f) of this 20 section, shall submit a report to the superintendent disclosing the 21 information set forth in subsection (b) of this section for the preced- 22 ing calendar year. 23 (e) Within three months of receiving the report required pursuant to 24 subsection (b) of this section, and annually thereafter, the superinten- 25 dent shall compile and post the information in such report on the 26 department's website. 27 (f) The superintendent may engage the services of attorneys, actuar- 28 ies, accountants and other experts not otherwise a part of the super- 29 intendent's staff, at the reporting insurer's expense, as shall be 30 reasonably necessary to assist in the review of such insurer's filing 31 under subsection (c) of this section. All persons so engaged shall be 32 under the direction and control of the superintendent and shall act in a 33 purely advisory capacity. 34 (g) The superintendent shall subject an insurer to the requirements of 35 this section if: 36 (1) The insurer reports over one hundred million dollars on its annual 37 schedule T filing with the National Association of Insurance Superinten- 38 dents; or 39 (2) The insurer's activities or investments may expose such insurer to 40 a heightened level of risk from the physical or transition effects of 41 climate change; or 42 (3) The superintendent otherwise determines that disclosure would be 43 in the public interest. 44 (h) The superintendent shall review and update the guidance at least 45 once every two years and shall update the guidance to reflect develop- 46 ments elsewhere in the world, with the intent of incorporating emerging 47 best practices and ensuring the smooth functioning of New York insurance 48 markets. 49 (i) The superintendent may adopt such regulations as the superinten- 50 dent deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this article. 51 (j) The superintendent shall develop a process for foreign insurance 52 companies to certify as a condition of licensure that they meet certain 53 criteria related to their investment and underwriting activity, and to 54 review their certification. 
 A. 3842 4 1 (k) Within five years of the effective date of this article, the 2 superintendent shall require any insurer doing business in the state to 3 certify that they have divested from: 4 (1) any company that derives ten percent or more of revenue from 5 exploration, extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any 6 other significant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any 7 byproduct thereof; 8 (2) any project intended to facilitate or expand exploration, 9 extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any other signif- 10 icant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any byproduct 11 thereof; and 12 (3) any project intended to construct any infrastructure related to 13 projects under paragraph two of this subsection, such as wells, pipe- 14 lines, terminals or refineries. 15 § 9204. Reporting. (a) Within twelve months of the effective date of 16 this article, and once every two years thereafter, the superintendent 17 shall submit a report to the legislature and the governor. The report 18 shall also be made available to the public and posted on the depart- 19 ment's website. The report shall disclose, for the preceding two calen- 20 dar years, the department's: 21 (1) Efforts to implement the provisions of section nine thousand two 22 hundred three of this article; 23 (2) Regulatory and supervisory actions taken, if any, to bolster the 24 resilience of insurers to the physical impacts of climate change; 25 (3) Regulatory and supervisory actions planned, if any, to bolster the 26 resilience of insurers to the physical impacts of climate change; 27 (4) The effects, if any, that the insurers' efforts to address climate 28 risk have had on the affordability and availability of insurance for low 29 income communities, communities of color and other traditionally under- 30 served communities in the state, including communities vulnerable to 31 bluelining as defined in paragraph fifty-six of subsection (a) of 32 section one hundred seven of this chapter. 33 (b) Such report shall also summarize available information regarding: 34 (1) insurer and insurance market readiness for climate change and the 35 energy transition; 36 (2) major sources of climate risk faced by New York insurers; 37 (3) any gaps related to climate risk that the department intends to 38 address; and 39 (4) any legislative action that must be taken in order to allow the 40 department to address climate risk. 41 § 2. Subsections (k) and (l) of section 102 of the financial services 42 law are amended and a new subsection (m) is added to read as follows: 43 (k) To promote the reduction and elimination of fraud, criminal abuse 44 and unethical conduct by, and with respect to, banking, insurance and 45 other financial services institutions and their customers; [and] 46 (l) To educate and protect users of banking, insurance, and financial 47 services products and services through the provision of timely and 48 understandable information[.]; and 49 (m) To identify, supervise, regulate and manage exposure to risk in 50 New York's banking, insurance and financial services industries, includ- 51 ing risks related to climate change. 52 § 3. Subsection (a) of section 107 of the insurance law is amended by 53 adding a new paragraph 56 to read as follows: 54 (56) "Community vulnerable to bluelining" means a census tract that 55 meets the following: 
 A. 3842 5 1 (A) qualifies as a low-to-moderate income community under the criteria 2 of the state's community reinvestment act or under the criteria defined 3 in section two thousand three hundred fifty-five of this chapter or 4 qualifies as a disadvantaged community as defined in section 75-0101 of 5 the environmental conservation law and qualifies as a high climate risk 6 community based either on the federal emergency management agency's risk 7 index or other criteria defined in section two thousand three hundred 8 fifty-five of this chapter; or 9 (B) qualifies based on other criteria developed by the department 10 pursuant to section two thousand three hundred fifty-five of this chap- 11 ter. 12 § 4. The insurance law is amended by adding two new sections 2354 and 13 2355 to read as follows: 14 § 2354. Protecting communities from bluelining. (a) The superintendent 15 shall have the authority to place a moratorium on non-renewals in under- 16 served communities that have been affected by a climate disaster in the 17 last year. 18 (b) No insurer shall refuse to issue or renew or shall cancel a policy 19 of property and casualty insurance based solely on the insured residing 20 in an area that is designated as a community vulnerable to bluelining 21 pursuant to paragraph fifty-six of subsection (a) of section one hundred 22 seven or section two thousand three hundred fifty-five of this chapter. 23 Such prohibition shall not preclude an insurer from refusing to issue or 24 renew or from canceling such policies based on sound underwriting and 25 actuarial principles reasonably related to actual or anticipated loss 26 experience subject to the applicable provisions of this section and of 27 section three thousand four hundred twenty-five of this chapter. 28 (c) No insurer shall refuse to issue or renew or shall cancel a policy 29 of property and casualty insurance based solely on the insured's source 30 of income, including the use of housing vouchers. 31 § 2355. Identification of communities vulnerable to bluelining. (a) In 32 addition to those communities which qualify as communities vulnerable to 33 bluelining pursuant to paragraph fifty-six of subsection (a) of section 34 one hundred seven of this chapter, the department shall establish crite- 35 ria and a process to identify new communities vulnerable to bluelining. 36 (1) Such criteria shall identify communities vulnerable to bluelining 37 based on geographic, public health, environmental hazard, and socioeco- 38 nomic criteria, which shall include, but are not limited to: 39 (A) areas burdened by cumulative environmental pollution and other 40 hazards that can lead to negative public health effects; 41 (B) areas with concentrations of people that are of low income, high 42 unemployment, high rent burden, low levels of home ownership, low levels 43 of educational attainment, or members of groups that have historically 44 experienced discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity; 45 (C) areas vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as flood- 46 ing, storm surges, and urban heat island effects; and 47 (D) any additional criteria that the department may identify. 48 (2) Before finalizing the criteria for identifying communities vulner- 49 able to bluelining pursuant to paragraph one of this subsection, the 50 department shall publish draft criteria and a draft list of communities 51 vulnerable to bluelining and make such information available on its 52 website. 53 (b) The department shall annually review the criteria, process, and 54 methods used to identify communities vulnerable to bluelining and shall 55 modify such methods to incorporate new data and scientific findings. 
 A. 3842 6 1 (c) The department shall regularly review the identities of communi- 2 ties vulnerable to bluelining and modify such identities as needed. 3 § 5. Subsection (d) of section 3425 of the insurance law is amended by 4 adding a new paragraph 4 to read as follows: 5 (4) With respect to cancellation of policies in communities vulnerable 6 to bluelining pursuant to paragraph fifty-six of subsection (a) of 7 section one hundred seven or section two thousand three hundred fifty- 8 five of this chapter, in addition to the requirements contained in para- 9 graph one of this subsection, unless the insurer, at least one year in 10 advance of the end of the policy period, mails or delivers to the named 11 insured, at the address shown in the policy, a written notice of its 12 intention not to renew a covered policy, or to condition its renewal 13 upon change of limits or elimination of any coverages, the named insured 14 shall be entitled to renew the policy upon timely payment of the premium 15 billed to the insured for the renewal. 16 § 6. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 215 to read 17 as follows: 18 § 215. Rating and affordability improvement study. (a) The department 19 shall conduct a study on methods for keeping property and casualty 20 insurance lines affordable for communities vulnerable to bluelining, 21 including the consideration of homeowner mitigation in premium discounts 22 and non-renewal and cancellations decisions, assistance programs for 23 low-income policyholders similar to those proposed for the national 24 flood insurance program, and a tax on homeowners insurance lines that 25 declines into a rebate based on income. 26 (b) Within twelve months of the effective date of this section, the 27 department shall issue a report on their findings which shall provide 28 recommendations for regulatory and legislative actions relating to 29 affordable insurance lines in communities vulnerable to bluelining. 30 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.