S 186: 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 ________________________________________________________________________ 186 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance AN ACT to amend the insurance law and the financial services law, in relation to establishing the climate protection insurance 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 CLIMATE PROTECTION INSURANCE ACT 5 Section 9201. Definitions. 6 9202. Implementing climate leadership and community protection 7 act targets for insurers. 8 9203. Reporting. 9 § 9201. Definitions. In this article, unless the context or subject 10 matter otherwise requires: 11 (a) "New fossil fuel project" means a project designed to facilitate 12 the production of fossil fuels in excess of what is in development as of 13 the effective date of this article, including production of new coal 14 infrastructure, power plants, or mines. "New fossil fuel project" also 15 includes projects that would support exploring new oil and gas fields or 16 otherwise expanding oil and gas reserves. Examples of such projects 17 include, but are not limited to, new wells, pipelines, terminals or gas 18 power plants. 19 (b) "Department" means the department of financial services. 20 (c) "Superintendent" means the superintendent of the department of 21 financial services. 22 (d) "Precautionary principle" means an approach taken to regulation 23 which mandates that when activities under consideration may lead to 24 unacceptably serious or irreversible harm that is scientifically plausi- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00753-01-5 
 S. 186 2 1 ble but uncertain, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that 2 harm. 3 (e) "Guidance" means the department guidance for New York domestic 4 insurers on managing the financial risks from climate change issued by 5 the department of financial services. 6 § 9202. Implementing climate leadership and community protection act 7 targets for insurers. (a) The department shall: 8 (1) Integrate the precautionary principle into its regulation and 9 supervision of insurers by: 10 (A) incorporating measures to anticipate, prevent, or minimize the 11 effects of climate risk and its adverse effects; and 12 (B) implementing cost-effective measures to address the climate risk 13 exposure of insurers, even in the absence of full economic or scientific 14 certainty; and 15 (2) Align insurer investment and underwriting activities with 16 science-based climate mitigation targets consistent with the emissions 17 limits set in section 75-0107 of the environmental conservation law by 18 prohibiting underwriting for any new fossil fuel project and directing 19 insurers to phase out existing underwriting for exploration, extraction, 20 processing, exporting, transporting, and any other significant action 21 with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any byproduct thereof. 22 (b) Within twelve months of the effective date of this article, the 23 superintendent shall develop and implement criteria for certain insurers 24 doing business in this state, as determined by the superintendent pursu- 25 ant to subsection (f) of this section, to submit annually to the super- 26 intendent a report disclosing: 27 (1) Such insurer's investments in: 28 (A) any company that derives ten percent or more of revenue from 29 exploration, extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any 30 other significant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any 31 byproduct thereof; 32 (B) any project intended to facilitate or expand exploration, 33 extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any other signif- 34 icant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any byproduct 35 thereof; and 36 (C) any project intended to construct any infrastructure related to 37 projects under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, such as wells, pipe- 38 lines, terminals or refineries; 39 (2) The financed emissions from all of the insurer's investments in 40 the previous reporting year; 41 (3) Information concerning such insurer's gross premium underwriting 42 for: 43 (A) any company that derives ten percent or more of revenue from 44 exploration, extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any 45 other significant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any 46 byproduct thereof; 47 (B) any project intended to facilitate or expand exploration, 48 extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any other signif- 49 icant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any byproduct 50 thereof; and 51 (C) any project intended to construct any infrastructure related 52 projects under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, such as wells, pipe- 53 lines, terminals or refineries; 54 (4) The insured emissions from all of the insurer's underwriting in 55 the previous reporting year; 
 S. 186 3 1 (5) Aggregated data on homeowners and renters premiums, claims, deduc- 2 tibles and overall insurance exposures, at a census-tract level, in a 3 manner that does not risk public disclosure of personally identifiable 4 information of policyholders; and 5 (6) Any other information the department deems necessary to effec- 6 tively implement and enforce any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant 7 to this article. 8 (c) The criteria developed by the superintendent pursuant to 9 subsection (b) of this section shall enable the superintendent to post 10 the information reported to the superintendent pursuant to subsection 11 (d) of this section on the department's website. 12 (d) Within twelve months of the effective date of this article, and 13 annually thereafter, such insurers doing business in this state, as 14 determined by the superintendent subject to subsection (f) of this 15 section, shall submit a report to the superintendent disclosing the 16 information set forth in subsection (b) of this section for the preced- 17 ing calendar year. 18 (e) Within three months of receiving the report required pursuant to 19 subsection (b) of this section, and annually thereafter, the superinten- 20 dent shall compile and post the information in such report on the 21 department's website. 22 (f) The superintendent may engage the services of attorneys, actuar- 23 ies, accountants and other experts not otherwise a part of the super- 24 intendent's staff, at the reporting insurer's expense, as shall be 25 reasonably necessary to assist in the review of such insurer's filing 26 under subsection (c) of this section. All persons so engaged shall be 27 under the direction and control of the superintendent and shall act in a 28 purely advisory capacity. 29 (g) The superintendent shall subject an insurer to the requirements of 30 this section if: 31 (1) The insurer reports over one hundred million dollars on its annual 32 schedule T filing with the National Association of Insurance Superinten- 33 dents; or 34 (2) The insurer's activities or investments may expose such insurer to 35 a heightened level of risk from the physical or transition effects of 36 climate change; or 37 (3) The superintendent otherwise determines that disclosure would be 38 in the public interest. 39 (h) The superintendent shall review and update the guidance at least 40 once every two years and shall update the guidance to reflect develop- 41 ments elsewhere in the world, with the intent of incorporating emerging 42 best practices and ensuring the smooth functioning of New York insurance 43 markets. 44 (i) The superintendent may adopt such regulations as the superinten- 45 dent deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this article. 46 (j) Within five years of the effective date of this article, the 47 superintendent shall require any insurer to divest from: 48 (1) any company that derives ten percent or more of revenue from 49 exploration, extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any 50 other significant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any 51 byproduct thereof; 52 (2) any project intended to facilitate or expand exploration, 53 extraction, processing, exporting, transporting, and any other signif- 54 icant action with respect to oil, natural gas, coal, or any byproduct 55 thereof; and 
 S. 186 4 1 (3) any project intended to construct any infrastructure related to 2 projects under paragraph two of this subsection, such as wells, pipe- 3 lines, terminals or refineries. 4 § 9203. Reporting. (a) Within twelve months of the effective date of 5 this article, and once every two years thereafter, the superintendent 6 shall submit a report to the legislature and the governor. The report 7 shall also be made available to the public and posted on the depart- 8 ment's website. The report shall disclose, for the preceding two calen- 9 dar years, the department's: 10 (1) Efforts to implement the provisions of section nine thousand two 11 hundred two of this article; 12 (2) Regulatory and supervisory actions taken, if any, to bolster the 13 resilience of insurers to the physical impacts of climate change; 14 (3) Regulatory and supervisory actions planned, if any, to bolster the 15 resilience of insurers to the physical impacts of climate change; 16 (4) The effects, if any, that the insurers' efforts to address climate 17 risk have had on the affordability and availability of insurance for low 18 income communities, communities of color and other traditionally under- 19 served communities in the state, including communities vulnerable to 20 bluelining as defined in paragraph fifty-six of subsection (a) of 21 section one hundred seven of this chapter. 22 (b) Such report shall also summarize available information regarding: 23 (1) insurer and insurance market readiness for climate change and the 24 energy transition; 25 (2) major sources of climate risk faced by New York insurers; 26 (3) any gaps related to climate risk that the department intends to 27 address; and 28 (4) any legislative action that must be taken in order to allow the 29 department to address climate risk. 30 § 2. Subsections (k) and (l) of section 102 of the financial services 31 law are amended and a new subsection (m) is added to read as follows: 32 (k) To promote the reduction and elimination of fraud, criminal abuse 33 and unethical conduct by, and with respect to, banking, insurance and 34 other financial services institutions and their customers; [and] 35 (l) To educate and protect users of banking, insurance, and financial 36 services products and services through the provision of timely and 37 understandable information[.]; and 38 (m) To identify, supervise, regulate and manage exposure to risk in 39 New York's banking, insurance and financial services industries, includ- 40 ing risks related to climate change. 41 § 3. Subsection (a) of section 107 of the insurance law is amended by 42 adding a new paragraph 56 to read as follows: 43 (56) "Community vulnerable to bluelining" means a census tract that 44 meets the following: 45 (A) qualifies as a low-to-moderate income community under the criteria 46 of the state's community reinvestment act or under the criteria defined 47 in section two thousand three hundred fifty-five of this chapter or 48 qualifies as a disadvantaged community as defined in section 75-0101 of 49 the environmental conservation law and qualifies as a high climate risk 50 community based either on the federal emergency management agency's risk 51 index or other criteria defined in section two thousand three hundred 52 fifty-five of this chapter; or 53 (B) qualifies based on other criteria developed by the department 54 pursuant to section two thousand three hundred fifty-five of this chap- 55 ter. 
 S. 186 5 1 § 4. The insurance law is amended by adding two new sections 2354 and 2 2355 to read as follows: 3 § 2354. Protecting communities from bluelining. (a) The superintendent 4 shall have the authority to place a moratorium on non-renewals in under- 5 served communities that have been affected by a climate disaster in the 6 last year. 7 (b) No insurer shall refuse to issue or renew or shall cancel a policy 8 of property and casualty insurance based solely on the insured residing 9 in an area that is designated as a community vulnerable to bluelining 10 pursuant to paragraph fifty-six of subsection (a) of section one hundred 11 seven or section two thousand three hundred fifty-five of this chapter. 12 Such prohibition shall not preclude an insurer from refusing to issue or 13 renew or from canceling such policies based on sound underwriting and 14 actuarial principles reasonably related to actual or anticipated loss 15 experience subject to the applicable provisions of this section and of 16 section three thousand four hundred twenty-five of this chapter. 17 (c) No insurer shall refuse to issue or renew or shall cancel a policy 18 of property and casualty insurance based solely on the insured's source 19 of income, including the use of housing vouchers. 20 § 2355. Identification of communities vulnerable to bluelining. (a) In 21 addition to those communities which qualify as communities vulnerable to 22 bluelining pursuant to paragraph fifty-six of subsection (a) of section 23 one hundred seven of this chapter, the department shall establish crite- 24 ria and a process to identify new communities vulnerable to bluelining. 25 (1) Such criteria shall identify communities vulnerable to bluelining 26 based on geographic, public health, environmental hazard, and socioeco- 27 nomic criteria, which shall include, but are not limited to: 28 (A) areas burdened by cumulative environmental pollution and other 29 hazards that can lead to negative public health effects; 30 (B) areas with concentrations of people that are of low income, high 31 unemployment, high rent burden, low levels of home ownership, low levels 32 of educational attainment, or members of groups that have historically 33 experienced discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity; 34 (C) areas vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as flood- 35 ing, storm surges, and urban heat island effects; and 36 (D) any additional criteria that the department may identify. 37 (2) Before finalizing the criteria for identifying communities vulner- 38 able to bluelining pursuant to paragraph one of this subsection, the 39 department shall publish draft criteria and a draft list of communities 40 vulnerable to bluelining and make such information available on its 41 website. 42 (b) The department shall annually review the criteria, process, and 43 methods used to identify communities vulnerable to bluelining and shall 44 modify such methods to incorporate new data and scientific findings. 45 (c) The department shall regularly review the identities of communi- 46 ties vulnerable to bluelining and modify such identities as needed. 47 § 5. Subsection (d) of section 3425 of the insurance law is amended by 48 adding a new paragraph 4 to read as follows: 49 (4) With respect to cancellation of policies in communities vulnerable 50 to bluelining pursuant to paragraph fifty-six of subsection (a) of 51 section one hundred seven or section two thousand three hundred fifty- 52 five of this chapter, in addition to the requirements contained in para- 53 graph one of this subsection, unless the insurer, at least one year in 54 advance of the end of the policy period, mails or delivers to the named 55 insured, at the address shown in the policy, a written notice of its 56 intention not to renew a covered policy, or to condition its renewal 
 S. 186 6 1 upon change of limits or elimination of any coverages, the named insured 2 shall be entitled to renew the policy upon timely payment of the premium 3 billed to the insured for the renewal. 4 § 6. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 215 to read 5 as follows: 6 § 215. Rating and affordability improvement study. (a) The department 7 shall conduct a study on methods for keeping property and casualty 8 insurance lines affordable for communities vulnerable to bluelining, 9 including the consideration of homeowner mitigation in premium discounts 10 and non-renewal and cancellations decisions, assistance programs for 11 low-income policyholders similar to those proposed for the national 12 flood insurance program, and a tax on homeowners insurance lines that 13 declines into a rebate based on income. 14 (b) Within twelve months of the effective date of this section, the 15 department shall issue a report on their findings which shall provide 16 recommendations for regulatory and legislative actions relating to 17 affordable insurance lines in communities vulnerable to bluelining. 18 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.