NY curbs intrusive claims probes
New York passed legislation limiting intrusive claims investigations — lawmakers specifically barred demands like tax returns for theft claims to protect privacy and streamline claims handling (x.com).
Filed as Assembly A1450 and Senate S5349, the measure is sponsored in the Assembly by Jeffrey Dinowitz and in the Senate by Leroy Comrie and proposes adding a new §2619 to the New York Insurance Law. (nysenate.gov 1) (nysenate.gov 2) A1450 was introduced on January 9, 2025 and Assembly records show the bill on the Assembly floor calendar with a recorded passage on May 21, 2025, while the Senate version S5349 was referred to the Senate Insurance Committee on February 20, 2025; legislative actions on the official Assembly page later record the status line “returned to assembly — died in senate” as of January 7, 2026. (nysenate.gov) (nysenate.gov) The operative language in the bill text bars insurers from demanding “intrusive personal, financial and tax information” as a standard practice when processing ordinary theft claims and conditions such requests on “special articulable circumstances” directly related to suspected fraud. (legislation.nysenate.gov) The bill text explicitly inserts the prohibition into the Insurance Law as a new section (§2619) and repeatedly frames broad financial-document requests — including tax returns and detailed banking records — as permissible only when tied to specific, case‑by‑case fraud indicators. (legislation.nysenate.gov) (billtrack50.com) Existing New York statutes governing claims conduct, including the “standards for prompt investigation and settlement of claims” at Insurance Law §2618 and statutory rules for Special Investigations Unit qualifications under Insurance Law §409, form the statutory backdrop the bill seeks to amend. (law.justia.com) (newyork.public.law) Sponsor and legislative summaries describe the measure as a consumer‑protection change that would make routine demands for tax and financial records in routine theft claims an unfair claims‑settlement practice unless articulable fraud grounds exist. (citizenportal.ai) (trackbill.com) Bill trackers and legal summaries note the text provides for an effective date clause in a second section of the bill but, as of the legislative records, the proposal’s ultimate enactment and effective date remain contingent on further Senate and gubernatorial action. (legislation.nysenate.gov) (nysenate.gov)
