N.Y. Volunteer Ambulance Workers' Benefit Law § 32: Group insurance

§ 32. Group insurance. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of section

thirty of this article, any town may contract for a single policy of

insurance indemnifying (a) all ambulance districts wholly within such

town which are liable for the payment of benefits under this chapter,

(b) all territory within such town outside cities, villages and

ambulance districts which is liable for the payment of benefits under

this chapter, and (c) the town in relation to such ambulance districts,

and outside territory, against liability imposed by this chapter. If a

town has any such liability and contracts for such a single policy, then

and in that event only any such policy, if requested by the board of

trustees of any village wholly within the town, or by the board of

ambulance commissioners of any ambulance district wholly within the

town, shall also indemnify such village or ambulance district against

such liability. The cost of such insurance shall be a town charge and

shall be levied and collected in the same manner as other town charges

only in the territory of such town which is liable for the payment of

benefits under this chapter and which is outside of any village and

ambulance districts not covered by such a policy. Nothing in this

section contained shall impose any additional liability on any town for

any benefit payments in relation to volunteer ambulance workers.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of section thirty of this

article, any group of cities, villages, ambulance districts or town

boards acting for and on behalf of ambulance districts or territories

outside any such municipal corporations or districts which are liable

for the payment of benefits under this chapter, all of which cities,

villages, districts and territories are located in whole or in part

within one county, may elect by resolution of the governing board of

each member of the group to be insured against liability imposed by this

chapter, as a group under a single policy. Such resolutions shall be

filed with the chairman of the board of supervisors. The group shall

file with the chairman of the board of supervisors an agreement, signed

by the officer of the governing body designated by such resolution,

agreeing to the effective date of such policy and to the population of

each such city, village, ambulance district and such territory outside

any such municipal corporation or district, and, if any such ambulance

district lies wholly or partly within two or more towns, the population

of the district within each such town. The population shall be that

which is shown by the latest federal census, or, if not shown by such

census, then as estimated. The estimate used for any village, district

or other area in a town plus the estimated or actual population of all

other villages, districts and areas in such town shall not exceed the

population of such town as shown by the latest federal census. It shall

be the duty of the chairman of the board of supervisors of the county,

upon the filing of such resolutions and agreement, promptly to contract

for insurance indemnifying against the liability imposed by this chapter

in the manner provided in section thirty of this article. Except by

mutual consent of the participating members, a member may withdraw from

such a group only upon the anniversary date of the policy, and then only

upon thirty days' notice of withdrawal by mail to the chairman of the

board of supervisors. The cost of such insurance shall be apportioned by

the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county to each such city,

village, ambulance district and such territory outside such municipal

corporations and districts, in the proportion that the agreed population

bears to the entire population of the group. Refunds, dividends and

discounts in relation to such insurance shall be distributed or credited

according to the same apportionment. Upon notification by the clerk of

the board of supervisors, the chief fiscal officer of each such city,

village or ambulance district shall pay to the county treasurer, from

moneys available or made available, the amount apportioned to such city,

village or district. Upon like notification, the supervisor of each town

in which such ambulance district is located in whole or in part, or in

which such outside territory is located, shall pay to the county

treasurer the amount apportioned for such district, in whole or in part,

or territory, as the case may be, using moneys raised or made available

for the purposes of ambulance service in such district or outside

territory, or if there be no such moneys or insufficient moneys, using

funds of the town available or made available, which funds shall be a

charge upon such district or territory for which the town shall be

reimbursed. The county treasurer shall pay the cost of such insurance

with such moneys, or if any apportioned share has not been paid, the

county treasurer shall advance the amount necessary from moneys of the

general fund upon resolution of the board of supervisors. Any such

advance shall be repaid as soon as moneys are available therefor. If

any apportioned share remains unpaid, the county may recover the same by

action at law. If any member of the group shall fail to pay its

apportioned share within thirty days after notice that such amount has

become due and payable, the chairman of the board of supervisors may

terminate the participation of such member in the group by notice by

mail to such member on a date specified in the notice, and a copy of

such notice shall be filed by the chairman of the board of supervisors

with the insurance carrier, who shall notify the chairman of the

workers' compensation board of the termination of coverage in the same

manner as provided for cancellation of policy under subdivision five of

section fifty-four of the workers' compensation law. If any village or

ambulance district is located in two or more counties, it may elect to

join such a group in one of such counties. If any ambulance district

includes territory in more than one county, it shall become a

participant only if all the town boards acting for and on behalf of such

district shall have elected that such district shall become a

participant in such a group, and in such case such town boards shall

elect as to which county group it shall join. If any participating

ambulance district includes territory in more than one town, whether or

not in more than one county, the amount of cost of insurance, refund,

dividend or discount apportioned to such district shall be apportioned

in the proportion that the population of the district within each such

town bears to the population of the entire district. The figure used for

population in such case shall be the one stated in the agreement. If

the boundaries of any city, village, ambulance district or such outside

territory in the group shall be changed during the effective period of

any such insurance policy, or if there are changes in the membership of

the group, the agreement heretofore mentioned concerning population

shall be appropriately amended by a supplementary agreement to be

executed and filed in the same manner as the original agreement, in

which case the coverage of the policy and the apportionment of the cost

thereof shall be changed accordingly.

3. Each policy issued pursuant to subdivisions one and two of this

section shall identify clearly each city, town, village, or ambulance

district and outside territory covered thereby.