NY Assembly Passes Bill Making Storm Insurance Easier to Understand

The New York State Assembly recently passed legislation to standardize triggers for hurricane deductibles in homeowners’ policies as part of a larger package of Superstorm Sandy related bills, Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Nassau County) announced.

The bill, which the Long Beach democrat authored, would “ensure residents will be better informed about the policies they purchase, rather than discovering a lack of necessary coverage in the aftermath of a major storm.”

According to a press release, deductibles can currently be activated based on a number of variables including: storm categories, wind speed or geographic location. This results in some Long Island residents paying significantly higher out-of-pocket expenses for windstorm damage and repairs, ranging up to 5 percent or more than others in the same area, the release says. Weisenberg said this legislation fixes these irregularities by requiring the state Department of Financial Services to establish uniform standards for windstorm deductibles.

“In April of 2012, the Assembly overwhelmingly approved my bill, as it has every year during the past decade, yet the Senate failed to act,” Weisenberg said. “At that time, I cautioned that we could not afford another hurricane season without basic standards and guidelines. Six months later, Sandy visited our shores. The enactment of this bill would have prevented at least one confusing obstacle so many homeowners faced during our attempts to rebuild.”

According to Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc., it is estimated that 95 percent of policyholders do not know that different insurance companies have different “triggers” that activate a windstorm deductible, the release says.

“Since the ‘triggering’ event determines whether a windstorm deductible applies to a policyholder’s loss, it’s crucial that it be assessed in a fair and reasonable manner,” it says. “This bill would also require insurance companies give policyholders written disclosure alerts explaining the amount and circumstances of their windstorm deductibles.”