N.Y. Insurance Law § 3436: Medical malpractice insurance; type of coverage

* § 3436. Medical malpractice insurance; type of coverage. (a) Every

insurer which issues or renews policies for primary levels of medical

malpractice insurance covering physicians licensed to practice in this

state shall issue such policies on a claims-made or occurrence basis, as

prescribed by the superintendent by regulation; provided, further, that

nothing in this section shall preclude any insurer from applying

otherwise applicable underwriting standards in determining whether to

issue or renew such policies.

(b) A claims-made policy shall contain the following provisions:

(1) if the insured has purchased a claims-made policy from an admitted

insurer for a period of five or more consecutive years and the insured,

after attaining the age of sixty-five or older, retires permanently and

totally from the practice of medicine or if the insured has purchased

such a policy for a period of ten or more consecutive years, and the

insured, after attaining the age of fifty-five or older, retires

permanently and totally from the practice of medicine, the insurer

shall, without charging an additional premium therefor at the time of,

or subsequent to, such retirement, also cover all occurrences between

the inception date of the first such consecutive policy from such

insurer and such retirement date which, subsequent to the termination

date, are reported in accordance with statutory and policy requirements;

(2) if the insured dies or becomes permanently disabled and unable to

practice medicine while covered by such a policy, the insurer shall,

without charging an additional premium therefor at the time of, or

subsequent to, such event, also cover all occurrences between the

inception date of the first such consecutive policy from such insurer

and the death or disability of the insured; and

(3) the insurer shall make available and shall advise the insured of

the availability and cost of coverage for occurrences between the

inception date of the first such consecutive policy from such insurer

and the termination of such policy which, subsequent to the termination

date, are reported in accordance with statutory and policy requirements,

pursuant to such terms and conditions as may be specified by the

superintendent by regulation. The insured shall have the option of

purchasing such coverage either in a single payment, or in three annual

installments with an additional finance charge.

(c) Such regulation shall also provide that if the coverage of an

insured who continues to practice in this state is transferred from an

admitted insurer or the medical malpractice insurance association to

another admitted insurer or the medical malpractice insurance

association without any gap in coverage, the former entity shall pay

over to the successor an actuarially appropriate dollar amount to

provide for the requirements of subsection (b) of this section, and the

insured shall be entitled to the benefits of such subsection as if such

insured had been continuously covered by the successor entity during the

entire period of consecutive years of coverage.

(d) Such regulation shall also provide that if the coverage of an

insured is transferred from an insurer in liquidation to another insurer

not in liquidation without any gap in coverage, then the successor

entity shall accept the amounts payable from the property-casualty

insurance security fund as provided in subparagraph (G) of paragraph one

of subsection (a) of section seven thousand six hundred three of this

chapter, to provide for the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of

this section, and the insured shall be entitled to the benefits of such

subsections as if such insured had been continuously covered by the

successor entity during the entire period of consecutive years of

coverage.

(e) An insurer may issue a claims-made policy with more liberal policy

provisions than are required in this section, subject to the approval of

the superintendent. Such liberal policy provisions may include but not

be limited to a provision which, for all of the policyholders of the

insurer, grants credit toward the cost of the coverage provided in

subsection (b) of this section in proportion to the number of years the

insured has purchased a claims-made policy.

* NB There are 2 § 3436's