NOTE: WITHDRAWN EFFECTIVE JUNE 05, 2009
Circular Letter No. 21 (2006)
October 27, 2006
| TO: | All Insurers Authorized to Write Motor Vehicle Insurance in New York State, Rate Service Organizations, New York Automobile Insurance Plan, and Insurance Producer Organizations |
| RE: | Premium Reductions for Completion of an Accident Prevention Course Pursuant to Section 2336(a) and (d) of the New York Insurance Law; Revised Information on Course Sponsor |
STATUTORY REFERENCE: Section 2336(a) and (d) of the Insurance Law
The purpose of this Circular Letter is to inform insurers, agents and brokers that Chapter 751 of the Laws of 2005 amended Section 2336 of the Insurance Law and added a new Article 12-C to the Vehicle and Traffic Law. The legislation establishes a 5-year pilot program for the review and study of internet technologies as a training method for the administration and completion of approved accident prevention courses (APC).
To qualify for the statutorily mandated APC discount per Section 2336 of the Insurance Law, the course must be approved by the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). However, to date, no online driving course has been approved by the DMV. We direct your attention to the following statement that appears on the DMVs website: "You cannot receive the point or insurance benefits for an Internet course." Therefore, completion of any internet based course does not qualify at this time for the statutorily mandated APC discount per Section 2336 of the Insurance Law.
This Circular Letter also updates Circular Letter No. 19 (2005), which listed all Motor Vehicle Accident Prevention Course sponsors currently approved by the DMV.
The contact information for the following approved course sponsor has been revised:
American Automobile Association
AAA Driver Improvement Program
1415 Kellum Place
Garden City, NY 11530
(Contact local AAA office)
Please refer to the DMV website at http://www.nysdmv.com/pirp.htm for the complete listing and for any future revisions to the list of approved sponsors.
Literature furnished to insureds about these courses should be revised to provide the proper names, addresses and telephone numbers of the organizations sponsoring the courses available to the general public. Such literature should also indicate that internet courses do not qualify at the present time for the statutorily mandated APC discount per Section 2336 of the Insurance Law, as noted above. Companies should furnish this revised literature to all insureds with new policies no later than December 1, 2006 and to all other insureds, with their renewal or billing notice, on or after January 1, 2007.
Very Truly Yours,
______________
Mark Presser
Assistant Deputy Superintendent &
Chief Examiner
Property Bureau