PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
This is a consensus rule making to amend Part 26 (Regulation 25) of Title 11 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Financial Services Law, sections 202 and 302; and Insurance Law, sections 301, 307 and 308 and art. 63
Subject:
Independent Adjusters.
Purpose:
To authorize the licensing of independent adjusters for multi-peril crop insurance.
Text of proposed rule:
Section 26.3 is hereby amended to add a new subdivision (k) to read as follows:
(k) Independent adjuster, multi-peril crop insurance. The independent adjuster, multi-peril crop insurance, shall have authority to investigate and adjust all claims arising under policies of multi-peril crop insurance that are reinsured by the Risk Management Agency, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Section 26.4 is hereby amended to add a new subdivision (c) to read as follows:
(c) In order to qualify for a multi-peril crop adjuster's license, an applicant must have received accreditation from the federal Crop Adjuster Proficiency Program, administered by the National Crop Insurance Services, Inc.
A new Section 26.7 is promulgated to read as follows:
§ 26.7 Reporting of actions
An adjuster shall report to the superintendent any administrative action taken against the adjuster in another jurisdiction or by another governmental agency in this state within thirty days of the final disposition of the matter, including decertification or other action related to the adjuster's proficiency to adjust multi-peril crop insurance claims. The report shall include a copy of the order, consent to order and any other relevant legal documents.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
David Neustadt, NYS Department of Financial Services, One State Street, New York, NY 10004, (212) 709-1690, email: david.neustadt@dfs.ny.org
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Sam Wachtel, NYS Department of Financial Services, 25 Beaver Street, New York, NY 10004, (212) 480-5269, email: samuel.wachtel@dfs.ny.gov
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Consensus Rule Making Determination
The Seventh Amendment to Regulation 25 will authorize the licensing of independent adjusters for multi-peril crop insurance. In order to qualify for a multi-peril crop adjuster's license, an applicant must have received accreditation from the federal Crop Adjuster Proficiency Program, administered by the National Crop Insurance Services, Inc ("NCIS"). Multi-peril crop adjuster's shall have authority to investigate and adjust all claims arising under policies of multi-peril crop insurance that are reinsured by the Risk Management Agency ("RMA"), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.
The RMA, through the FCIC, provides crop insurance to American producers. Seventeen private-sector insurance companies sell and service the policies. RMA develops and/or approves the premium rate, administers premium and expense subsidies, approves and supports products, and reinsures the companies.
The 2012 Standard Reinsurance Agreement (http://www.rma.usda.gov/pubs/ra/sraarchives/2sra.pdf) provides that all loss adjusters adjusting eligible crop insurance contracts must be certified by the FCIC before they can conduct any loss adjustment. Loss adjusters may obtain certification by completing the training requirements specified in the reinsurance agreement. Further provisions of the 2012 Standard Reinsurance Agreement provide that no state or local regulatory authority, including without limitation a State's insurance commissioner, department, or comparable public authority, may enforce or seek to enforce any provision of the Act, the regulations, this Agreement, or any FCIC procedures, without the prior written consent of FCIC.
This rule is determined by the agency to be a consensus rule, as defined in State Administrative Procedure Act. § 102(11) (SAPA), and is proposed pursuant to subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section two hundred two of SAPA. Accordingly, it is exempt from the requirement to file a Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small Businesses and Local Governments or a Rural Area Flexibility Analysis.
Job Impact Statement
This amendment is not likely to impact job or employment opportunities in New York. This amendment authorizes the licensing of independent adjusters for multi-peril crop insurance and establishes the procedures to allow adjusters to obtain such authorization. It creates an additional business opportunity for independent adjusters.
The independent adjusters that apply for authorization to write multi-peril crop insurance will, in almost all cases, already have independent adjuster licenses for other lines of insurance. In any event, the amendment will either have no effect or a positive affect on job opportunities in New York State.
