New York's insurance law is the New York Insurance Law, and the Department's rules are numbered Regulations in Title 11 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (11 NYCRR). Producer licensing is in Article 21 of the Insurance Law, unfair trade practices in Article 24, and claim practices in section 2601 and Regulation 64. This guide covers the New York rules on the regulator, licensing, appointments, continuing education, conduct, fraud, privacy and the security funds, with citations. The general concepts are in the national Insurance Regulation guide.

About the exam

New York's producer exams are given by PSI for the Department of Financial Services (DFS). Each exam mixes general and New York questions, scored together, and 70% passes.

• New York has no separate Property or Casualty producer exam. Both lines are licensed through the combined Property & Casualty exam (17-56).
• Prelicensing education is required before the exam unless an exemption applies: 20 hours for Life or Accident & Health alone, 40 hours for combined Life/Accident & Health, 40 hours for Personal Lines and 90 hours for Property & Casualty.
• CLU holders may skip the education and take only the 17-73 Life and Health Laws and Regulations exam.
• The license application must be received within two years of passing, or the exam must be retaken.
• Variable annuity applicants also show FINRA or state securities qualification (NY Insurance Law 4240).

The regulator

• The Department of Financial Services (DFS) regulates insurance and is headed by the Superintendent of Financial Services (Financial Services Law 201, 202, 301). The title is Superintendent, not Commissioner. Regulations the Superintendent adopts have the force of law.
• An insurer needs a license (certificate of authority) from the Superintendent (Ins. Law 1102). It files annual financial statements (Ins. Law 307) and is subject to examination (Ins. Law 309, 310).

Who needs a license

• A license is required to sell, solicit or negotiate insurance (Ins. Law 2101, 2102). To negotiate is to confer with or advise a buyer about a particular contract's benefits, terms or conditions (2101(m)). To solicit is to try to sell, or urge someone to apply for a particular kind of insurance from a particular insurer (2101(o)).
• Agent vs. broker: an agent acts for an insurer under an agency contract. A broker acts for the insured (Ins. Law 2101). Salaried insurer employees who don't sell for commission aren't agents.
• Consultants: charging a separate fee to advise on policies requires a consultant license (Ins. Law 2107). Fees for advice must rest on a written memorandum signed by the person charged, kept three years (Ins. Law 2119). A broker who charges anything beyond commissions also needs a signed memorandum stating the amount.
• Adjusters, including public adjusters who represent insureds for a fee, are licensed separately (Ins. Law 2108). Excess line brokers place coverage with eligible unauthorized insurers (Ins. Law 2105).
• Referrals: an unlicensed person may be paid for a referral only if they don't discuss specific policy terms and the payment doesn't depend on a purchase (Ins. Law 2114(a)(4)).
• Commissions may be paid only to properly licensed (and, where required, appointed) producers (Ins. Law 2114 to 2116). Renewal commissions may go to someone licensed at the time of sale (2102(e)).
• Assumed names: a licensee may not use any name other than their own legal name unless the Superintendent approved it (Ins. Law 2102(f)).
• Business entities need their own license with a designated responsible licensee (Ins. Law 2103, 2104).

Getting and keeping the license

• Applicants must be at least 18 when the license is issued (Ins. Law 2103(d)). A person with a felony involving dishonesty or breach of trust needs written consent under 18 U.S.C. 1033, filed with the application.
• Term: individual licenses run 24 months and expire on the licensee's birthday, in odd-numbered years for people born in odd years and even-numbered years for people born in even years. Business entity licenses expire June 30 of odd-numbered years (Ins. Law 2103(j)).
• Renewal applications filed less than 60 days before expiration pay an extra late-filing fee.
• Veterans discharged under other than dishonorable conditions pay no license fee (Ins. Law 2103).
• Address change: within 30 days (Ins. Law 2134), including email (11 NYCRR 21.4). A producer who changes home state files the change and the new state's certification within 30 days.
• Nonresidents are licensed by reciprocity (Ins. Law 2136).
• Temporary licenses keep a business running after a producer's death, disability or military service (Ins. Law 2109). After a death, terms are up to 90 days, renewable, but no more than 15 months total. A temporary licensee services existing business but may not sell new insurance.
• Controlled business: a license may be refused, suspended or revoked if more than 10% of the producer's net commissions over 12 months come from their own, family or business associates' risks (Ins. Law 2103(i)).

Continuing education (Ins. Law 2132; 11 NYCRR 20.7)

• 15 credit hours every two-year licensing period.
• For renewals on or after April 1, 2022, the 15 hours include at least 1 hour each of insurance law, ethics and professionalism, and diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias.
• Property and casualty licensees take at least 1 hour of flood insurance. Those who sell NFIP flood take at least 3 hours of enhanced flood training.
• No carryover of extra hours (2132(c)(3)).
• CE applies once the license has run a full two-year period. A licensee who held it for less than that is exempt for that renewal.
• Nonresidents who meet equivalent home-state CE are exempt. Missing CE blocks renewal.

Appointments and terminations (Ins. Law 2112)

• The insurer files a certificate of appointment within 15 days after the agency contract is signed or the first application is submitted.
• When an appointment ends for cause, the insurer files a statement of the facts with the Superintendent within 30 days, sends the producer a copy within 15 days after that, and the producer has 30 days to file comments. Reports made without fraud, bad faith or gross negligence are protected from liability.

Discipline and penalties

• Grounds (Ins. Law 2110) include a felony conviction, misappropriating funds, fraudulent practices, untrustworthiness or incompetence, and failing to comply with child support or state tax orders. A person whose license is revoked can't be relicensed for one year.
• Reporting: administrative actions elsewhere within 30 days of final disposition, and criminal prosecutions within 30 days of the initial pretrial hearing (Ins. Law 2110(i), (j)).
• Penalty instead of suspension or revocation: up to $500 per offense, $2,500 in aggregate in one proceeding (Ins. Law 2127).
• Every Insurance Law violation is a misdemeanor unless it's a felony. Willful violations can draw a penalty of up to $1,000 per offense where no other penalty applies (Ins. Law 109).

Producer conduct

• Fiduciary duty: premiums are held in a fiduciary capacity and may not be commingled with the producer's own money. Separate accounts for each insurer aren't required if each one's funds can be identified (Ins. Law 2120). Premium account records are kept at least three years (11 NYCRR 20.4).
• A broker is treated as authorized to receive a premium for the insurer if it's paid within 90 days after it was due (Ins. Law 2121).
• Regulation 194 (producer compensation transparency): at or before application, the producer explains their role, whether the insurer pays them, that pay may vary, and that the buyer can ask for details. A request made within 30 days after issuance gets a written answer within 5 business days. Copies are kept three years (11 NYCRR 30).
• Office license display: the supervising person's license is displayed at each office (11 NYCRR 34.5).
• Advertising: an ad naming an insurer gives its full name and principal office city (Ins. Law 2122). Nobody may advertise an unauthorized insurer or help one do business here (Ins. Law 2117, 2122).

Unfair practices and rebating

• Misrepresentation and twisting (Ins. Law 2123), defamation of an insurer (2604), boycott, coercion and intimidation (Article 24; 2316 for P&C), and sliding (adding coverage or fees without consent) are prohibited.
• Lender coercion: a lender can require acceptable coverage but not a particular insurer, agent or broker (Ins. Law 2502).
• Cease and desist: after a hearing on at least 10 days' notice, the Superintendent may order a person to stop an unfair practice (Ins. Law 2405).
• Rebating: inducements not stated in the policy are banned, except items worth $25 or less (Ins. Law 4224(c) for life and health; 2324(a) for property and casualty). Agents and brokers may offer fair, incidental wellness programs with group coverage (4224(f)). In P&C, a producer may keep commissions on their own risks up to 5% of total net commissions, and each violation of 2324 carries a $500 penalty.
• Discrimination: no distinctions because of race, color, creed, national origin or disability (Ins. Law 2606), or refusals because of sex or marital status, including sexual orientation and gender identity (2607). Being a domestic violence victim isn't a permitted underwriting factor (2612). An HIV test requires written informed consent (2611). Coverage can't be refused or rated solely because someone takes PrEP (4224).
• Unfair claims practices (Ins. Law 2601; Regulation 64): see the claims timelines below.

Regulation 64 claim timelines (11 NYCRR 216)

• Acknowledge a claim within 15 business days.
• Decide within 15 business days after proof of loss (30 business days if arson is suspected), or explain the delay and write again every 90 days.
• Pay agreed amounts within 5 business days.
• Answer a DFS inquiry within 10 business days.
• A denial must cite the specific policy provision relied on.

Insurance fraud (Insurance Law Article 4)

• Fraud warnings (Ins. Law 403): applications for commercial insurance and accident and health insurance, and all claim forms, carry the statutory warning. Auto applications and claim forms carry a separate warning about false theft or damage reports (403(e)). The civil penalty is up to $5,000 plus the amount of the claim per violation.
• Mandatory reporting: a licensee who believes a transaction may be fraudulent reports it to DFS's Insurance Frauds Bureau within 30 days of that determination (Ins. Law 405).
• Certain insurers file fraud prevention plans and run special investigations units (Ins. Law 409). Penal Law Article 176 sets the degrees of the crime.

Privacy, cybersecurity and records

• Regulation 169 (11 NYCRR 420): an initial privacy notice when the relationship starts and an annual notice after that. Sharing health information requires the consumer's authorization (opt-in). Sharing financial information with nonaffiliated parties is subject to an opt-out.
• Cybersecurity regulation (23 NYCRR 500): covered entities keep a risk-based program, notify DFS within 72 hours of determining a cybersecurity incident occurred, and certify compliance each year by April 15. An agent covered by an insurer's program is exempt to that extent.
• Regulation 152 requires insurers to keep records for six years (or until the next exam report, if later).

Security funds and guaranty corporation

• Life and Health Insurance Company Guaranty Corporation of New York (renamed in 2024; Insurance Law Article 77) covers life, annuity and health obligations of insolvent member insurers, up to $500,000 in aggregate per life (Ins. Law 7708). Using it to sell insurance is prohibited (7718).
• Property/Casualty Insurance Security Fund (Insurance Law Article 76) pays covered claims of insolvent admitted property and casualty insurers. Excess line insurers aren't covered.

Common exam traps

• Superintendent of Financial Services, heading DFS.
• CE: 15 hours every two years, with 1 hour each of law, ethics and diversity/inclusion. P&C licensees add flood.
• Rebating limit: $25. The life/health section is 4224(c); the P&C section is 2324.
• Fraud reports go to the Insurance Frauds Bureau within 30 days.
• Licenses expire on the birthday, every two years.
• Controlled business over 10% of commissions is a problem.