N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 313

§ 313. Notice of termination. 1. (a) No contract of insurance for\nwhich a certificate of insurance has been filed with the commissioner\nshall be terminated by cancellation by the insurer until at least twenty\ndays after mailing to the named insured at the address shown on the\npolicy a notice of termination by regular mail, with a certificate of\nmailing, properly endorsed by the postal service to be obtained, except\nwhere the cancellation is for non-payment of premium in which case\nfifteen days notice of cancellation by the insurer shall be sufficient,\nprovided, however, if another insurance contract has been procured, such\nother insurance contract shall, as of its effective date and hour,\nterminate the insurance previously in effect with respect to any motor\nvehicles designated in both contracts. No contract of insurance for\nwhich a certificate of insurance has been filed with the commissioner in\nwhich a natural person is the named insured and the motor vehicle is\nused predominantly for non-business purposes shall be non-renewed by an\ninsurer unless at least forty-five, but not more than sixty days in\nadvance of the renewal date the insurer mails or delivers to the named\ninsured at the address shown on the policy a written notice of its\nintention not to renew. No such contract of insurance in which the named\ninsured is not a natural person or the motor vehicle is used\npredominantly for business purposes shall be non-renewed by an insurer\nunless at least twenty days in advance of the renewal date the insurer\nmails or delivers to the named insured at the address shown on the\npolicy a written notice of its intention not to renew. All notices of\nnon-renewal shall be sent by regular mail with a certificate of mailing,\nproperly endorsed by the postal service to be obtained. Time of the\neffective date and hour of termination stated in the notice shall become\nthe end of the policy period. Every notice or acknowledgement of\ntermination for any cause whatsoever sent to the insured shall include\nin type of which the face shall not be smaller than twelve point a\nstatement that proof of financial security is required to be maintained\ncontinuously throughout the registration period and a notice prescribed\nby the commissioner indicating the punitive effects of failure to\nmaintain continuous proof of financial security and actions which may be\ntaken by the insured to avoid such punitive effects.\n (b) Every insurer shall retain a copy of the notice of termination\nmailed pursuant to this chapter and shall retain the certificate of\nmailing obtained from the postal service upon the mailing of the\noriginal of said notice. A copy of a notice of termination and the\ncertificate of mailing, when kept in the regular course of the insurer's\nbusiness, shall constitute conclusive proof of compliance with the\nmailing requirements of this chapter.\n 2. (a) Upon the termination of an owner's policy of liability\ninsurance, other than an owner's policy of liability insurance for a\nmotorcycle, at the request of the insured or by cancellation by the\ninsurer, the insurer shall file a notice of termination with reference\nto such policy, as opposed to any insured vehicle or vehicles under such\npolicy, with the commissioner not later than thirty days following the\neffective date of such cancellation or other termination, in accordance\nwith the regulations required by paragraph (c) of this subdivision. An\ninsurer shall not file a notice of termination with the commissioner\nexcept as required by this subdivision.\n (b) Upon the issuance of an owner's policy of liability insurance the\ninsurer shall file a notice or confirmation of issuance with reference\nto such policy not later than fourteen days following the effective date\nof such issuance, and not later than seven days following the effective\ndate for policies issued after January first, two thousand one, in\naccordance with the regulations required by paragraph (c) of this\nsubdivision.\n (c) The commissioner shall promulgate regulations establishing\nprocedures for issuance of proof of insurance and for reporting by\ninsurers of notices of termination and policy issuance, either\nelectronically or by paper copy, at the option of the department. Such\nreporting shall be required for every cancellation or termination which\nis effective on or after July first, nineteen hundred eighty-four and\nfor every policy issuance which is effective on or after January first,\ntwo thousand; provided, however, that should the commissioner find,\nafter testing of reporting procedures, that it would be feasible to\nrequire reporting for policy cancellations, terminations or issuances\neffective on an earlier date, he may by regulation so require reporting\non such earlier date, but in no event shall reporting be required for\ncancellations or terminations effective prior to February first,\nnineteen hundred eighty-four nor for policy issuances effective prior to\nSeptember first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine. Insurers shall cooperate\nfully with the commissioner in any such testing of reporting procedures.\n (d) Upon application by an insurer, the commissioner may extend the\nperiod for filing of notices of termination by such insurer for up to\nfifteen days, and for seven days for policies issued by an insurer.\nExtensions shall not be granted unless the insurer demonstrates to the\nsatisfaction of the commissioner that compliance with the notice period\nwould result in substantial hardship to the insurer. The commissioner\nshall maintain a list of extensions granted pursuant to this paragraph.\n 3. A cancellation or termination for which notice is required to be\nfiled with the commissioner pursuant to subdivision two of this section\nshall not be effective with respect to persons other than the named\ninsured and members of the insured's household until the insurer has\nfiled a notice thereof with the commissioner or until another insurance\npolicy covering the same risk has been procured, except that a notice\nfiled with the commissioner, in the format prescribed by the\ncommissioner, within the period prescribed in subdivision two of this\nsection shall be effective as of the date certified therein, regardless\nof whether a suspension order is issued pursuant to section three\nhundred eighteen of this article. A receipt from the department stating\nthat a notice of termination has been filed shall be deemed conclusive\nevidence of such filing. An insurer shall cooperate with the\ncommissioner in attempting to identify persons not in compliance with\nthis article in cases where the information reported by the insurer does\nnot correspond with records maintained by the department.\n 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the\ncontrary, the commissioner shall establish a pilot program to maintain\nan up-to-date insured vehicle identification database to assist in\nidentifying uninsured motor vehicles. Such databases shall be\nimplemented by the department pursuant to standards prescribed by the\ncommissioner or an agent designated by the commissioner which shall seek\ntechnical assistance from affected insurers and the New York Automobile\nInsurance Plan. This program shall utilize all information collected\npursuant to this section and shall also include the following elements:\n (a) In addition to and in conjunction with the provisions of\nsubdivision two of this section, insurers that write private passenger\nor commercial motor vehicle insurance in this state shall also submit to\nthe department, either electronically or by paper copy, at the option of\nthe department, information that identifies those policies that have\nbeen cancelled, terminated or non-renewed and all policies that have\nbeen issued, the date when such insurance lapses, and any other\ninformation that the commissioner deems necessary to efficiently\nidentify and track uninsured vehicles in this state such as a\npolicyholder's address, policy number, vehicle registration number, and\nvehicle identification number. The department may exempt from such pilot\nprogram the transfer of information on certain classifications of\nvehicles that are in the opinion of the department generally insured and\nwhich it is difficult to identify uninsured vehicles within such\nclassification, such as large commercial vehicle fleets;\n (b) The department shall forward to each motor vehicle insurer, at\nsuch times as deemed necessary and appropriate by the commissioner, a\nlisting of all the registrants the department has on file as insured\nwith that insurer. Such insurer shall then review the listing within\nthirty days of receipt of the listing and report to the department which\nof the registrants the insurer does not insure;\n (c) The commissioner shall, in conjunction with the superintendent of\nstate police and local law enforcement officials formulate a means to\nallow such database to be easily accessible to on-duty law enforcement\npersonnel in the performance of their official duties for the purpose of\nverifying whether an operator maintains proper insurance coverage and to\nincrease compliance with the motor vehicle financial security laws under\nthis article and article eight of this title;\n (d) In developing the mechanism to electronically transfer information\nto the department, the commissioner shall consult with the\nsuperintendent of financial services and insurers to adopt a\nstandardized system of organizing, recording and transferring such\ninformation so as to minimize insurer administrative expenses. The\ncommissioner shall to the maximum extent possible utilize nationally\nrecognized electronic data information systems such as those developed\nby the American National Standards Institute or the American Association\nof Motor Vehicle Administrators;\n (e)(1) Either simultaneously or after the up-dated database system has\nbeen established, the commissioner shall develop a computer indicator\nthat can be imprinted on a vehicle registration sticker or on a sticker\nto be affixed to the insured's license plate. Such indicator system\nshall enable law enforcement personnel and other authorized persons when\nacting in the course of their official duties to access the department's\ndatabase so that such persons can ascertain whether a vehicle is\nproperly insured or not insured;\n (2) Such computer indicator system shall enable authorized persons in\nthe performance of their official duties to access information such as\nthe registrant's name, vehicle identification number, name of insurer,\ncurrent status of insurance, vehicle registration number and other\ninformation that the commissioner deems necessary to implement the\nprovisions of this section. The commissioner in developing such computer\nindicator system shall enable authorized persons in the performance of\ntheir official duties to access only such information that is necessary\nto detect uninsured motor vehicles or accomplish other goals clearly\nestablished and authorized by law. Such computer indicator system shall\nbe designed to protect the personal privacy interests of motorists;\n (f) The commissioner shall maintain an insured vehicle database system\nthat is accurate to within a period of fourteen days and a computer\nindicator system described in paragraph (e) of this subdivision within\ntwenty-four months of the effective date of this subdivision and to\nwithin seven days by January first, two thousand one. The commissioner\nshall submit to the legislature a report within eighteen months from the\ndate this subdivision takes effect which outlines the progress being\nmade to implement such database and computer indicator system. After\nsuch database and computer indicator system is established and put into\noperation, the commissioner shall make recommendations to the\nlegislature to alter, minimize or eliminate the need for the issuance of\ninsurance identification cards, simplify the requirements to demonstrate\nproof of financial security and certificate of insurance currently\nrequired by this article, eliminate the requirement for production of\nproof of financial security to accompany applications for registrations\nor renewals thereof provided that such database indicates that the\nregistrant is insured, and the repeal or modification of section three\nhundred twelve-a of this article. The commissioner shall also make\nrecommendations to the legislature to streamline and shorten the notice\ntermination requirements of subdivisions one, two and three of this\nsection and section three hundred eighteen of this article. Such report\nshall be submitted to the legislature within twelve months from the date\nsuch database and indicator system has been implemented;\n (g) To minimize the cost of this program, the commissioner, if he\ndeems it necessary and prudent, can initially limit the scope of this\nproject to a select number of vehicle classifications or insurers;\n (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, information obtained\nby the department pursuant to this section shall not be disclosed, used,\nsold, accessed, utilized in any manner or released by the department to\nany person, corporation, or state and local agency, except in response\nto a specific, individual request for such information authorized\npursuant to the federal driver's privacy protection act (18 U.S.C. 2721\net.seq.). The department shall institute measures to ensure that only\nauthorized persons are permitted to access such information for the\npurposes specified by this section. Persons who knowingly release or\ndisclose information from such database for a purpose other than those\ndescribed as authorized by this section or to a person not entitled to\nreceive it shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for each such release or\ndisclosure; and\n (i) The commissioner may postpone implementation of such pilot\ndatabase and computer indicator system for a period of time not to\nexceed eighteen months if he or she determines that the program is not\nready for implementation. Should the commissioner determine that such\nsystem cannot be implemented during the eighteen months extension, then\nthe commissioner shall report to the legislature the reasons why such\nprogram cannot be implemented and request that the law be amended to\ndelay its implementation date.\n