N.Y. Insurance Law § 7910: Enforcement provisions

§ 7910. Enforcement provisions. (a) The superintendent may conduct

investigations or examinations of providers, administrators, insurers or

other persons to enforce the provisions of this article and protect

service contract holders in this state. Upon request of the

superintendent, the provider shall make all accounts, books and records

concerning service contracts sold in this state by the provider

available to the superintendent which are necessary to enable the

superintendent to reasonably determine compliance or noncompliance with

this article.

(b) The superintendent may take action which is necessary or

appropriate to enforce the provisions of this article and the

superintendent's regulations and orders, and to protect service contract

holders in this state.

(1) If the provider has violated this article or the superintendent's

regulations or orders, the superintendent may order a service contract

provider to cease and desist from committing violations of this article

or the superintendent's regulations or orders, may issue an order

suspending a provider's registration under this article or prohibiting a

service contract provider from marketing, selling, offering for sale,

issuing, making or proposing to make service contracts, or may issue an

order imposing a civil penalty, or any combination of these. An order

issued under this paragraph may be delivered to the provider at its

principal office or to the provider's designated agent for service of

process indicated in the provider's registration materials pursuant to

paragraph two of subsection (a) of section seven thousand nine hundred

seven of this article.

(A) A person aggrieved by an order issued under this paragraph may

request a hearing before the superintendent. The hearing request shall

be filed with the superintendent within twenty days of the date the

superintendent's order is effective;

(B) If a hearing is requested, an order issued under this paragraph

shall be suspended from the original effective date of the order until

completion of the hearing and delivery of the final decision thereon by

the superintendent, except that where the provider has demonstrated a

consistent pattern or practice of gross misconduct in connection with

the marketing, sale, offering for sale, issuance, making or proposing to

make of service contracts, the effective date of the order shall not be

suspended pending the hearing and decision by the superintendent; and

(C) At the hearing, the burden shall be on the superintendent to show

why the order issued pursuant to this paragraph is justified. The

provisions of section three hundred five of the financial services law

shall apply to a hearing requested under this paragraph.

(2) The superintendent may bring an action in any court of competent

jurisdiction for an injunction or other appropriate relief to enjoin

threatened or existing violations of this article or of the

superintendent's orders or regulations. An action filed under this

paragraph may also seek restitution on behalf of persons aggrieved by a

violation of this article or orders or regulations of the

superintendent.

(3) A person in violation of this article may be subject to a monetary

penalty of not more than five hundred dollars per violation. If the

violation is not willful, such person may in lieu of paying such

monetary penalty, provide restitution to the persons aggrieved by the

violation or otherwise remedy the violation within sixty days after

becoming aware of the violation.

(c) The authority of the superintendent under this section is in

addition to any other authority of the superintendent.