New York Laws
Article 11 - Licensing of Insurers
1113 - Kinds of Insurance Authorized.

(1) "Life Insurance," means every insurance upon the lives of human
beings, and every insurance appertaining thereto, including the granting
of endowment benefits, additional benefits in the event of death by
accident, additional benefits to safeguard the contract from lapse,
accelerated payments of part or all of the death benefit or a special
surrender value upon (A) diagnosis of terminal illness defined as a life
expectancy of twelve months or less, (B) diagnosis of a medical
condition requiring extraordinary medical care or treatment regardless
of life expectancy, (C) certification by a licensed health care
practitioner of any condition which requires continuous care for the
remainder of the insured's life in an eligible facility or at home when
the insured is chronically ill as defined by Section 7702(B) of the
Internal Revenue Code and regulations thereunder, provided the
accelerated payments qualify under Section 101(g)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code and all other applicable sections of federal law in order
to maintain favorable tax treatment, (D) certification by a licensed
health care practitioner that the insured is chronically ill as defined
by Section 7702 (B) of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations
thereunder, provided the accelerated payments qualify under Section
101(g)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and all other applicable sections
of federal law in order to maintain favorable tax treatment, (E) the
insured's having been a resident of a nursing home, as defined in
section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, for a period
of three months or more, with an expectation that such insured will
remain a resident of a nursing home until death, or (F) the insured's
having been the recipient of end of life or palliative care, for a
period of three months or more, at a residential health care facility as
defined in subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred one of the
public health law, home care services as defined in subdivision one of
section thirty-six hundred two of the public health law or hospice as
defined in subdivision one of section four thousand two of the public
health law, with the expectation that such insured will continue to
require such services until death. "Life insurance" also includes a
special surrender value upon total and permanent disability of the
insured, optional modes of settlement of proceeds, and additional
benefits to safeguard the contract against lapse in the event of
unemployment of the insured or in the event the insured is a resident of
a nursing home. Amounts paid the insurer for life insurance and proceeds
applied under optional modes of settlement or under dividend options may
be allocated by the insurer to one or more separate accounts pursuant to
section four thousand two hundred forty of this chapter.
(2) "Annuities," means all agreements to make periodical payments for
a period certain or where the making or continuance of all or some of a
series of such payments, or the amount of any such payment, depends upon

the continuance of human life, except payments made under the authority
of paragraph one hereof. Amounts paid the insurer to provide annuities
and proceeds applied under optional modes of settlement or under
dividend options may be allocated by the insurer to one or more separate
accounts pursuant to section four thousand two hundred forty of this
chapter.
(3) "Accident and health insurance," means (i) insurance against death
or personal injury by accident or by any specified kind or kinds of
accident and insurance against sickness, ailment or bodily injury,
including insurance providing disability and family leave benefits
pursuant to article nine of the workers' compensation law, except as
specified in item (ii) hereof; and (ii) non-cancellable disability
insurance, meaning insurance against disability resulting from sickness,
ailment or bodily injury (but excluding insurance solely against
accidental injury) under any contract which does not give the insurer
the option to cancel or otherwise terminate the contract at or after one
year from its effective date or renewal date.
(4) "Fire insurance," means insurance against loss of or damage to any
property resulting from fire, including loss or damage incident to the
extinguishment of a fire or to the salvaging of property in connection
therewith.
(5) "Miscellaneous property insurance," means loss of or damage to
property resulting from:
(A) lightning, smoke or smudge, windstorm, tornado, cyclone,
earthquake, volcanic eruption, rain, hail, frost and freeze, weather or
climatic conditions, excess or deficiency of moisture, flood, the rising
of the waters of the ocean or its tributaries;
(B) insects, or blights, or disease of such property except animals;
(C) electrical disturbance causing or concomitant with a fire or an
explosion in public service or public utility property;
(D) bombardment, invasion, insurrection, riot, civil war or commotion,
military or usurped power, any order of a civil authority made to
prevent the spread of a conflagration, epidemic or catastrophe,
vandalism or malicious mischief, strike or lockout, collapse from any
cause, or explosion; but excluding any kind of insurance specified in
paragraph nine hereof, except insurance against loss of or damage to
property resulting from:
(i) explosion of pressure vessels (except steam boilers of more than
fifteen pounds pressure) in buildings designed and used solely for
residential purposes by not more than four families,
(ii) explosion of any kind originating outside of the insured building
or outside of the building containing the property insured,
(iii) explosion of pressure vessels which do not contain steam or
which are not operated with steam coils or steam jackets, or
(iv) electrical disturbance causing or concomitant with an explosion
in public service or public utility property; or
(E) lateral or vertical subsidence of the earth caused by past or
present mining operations.
(6) "Water damage insurance," means insurance against loss or damage
by water or other fluid or substance to any property resulting from the
breakage or leakage of sprinklers, pumps or other apparatus erected for
extinguishing fires or of water pipes or other conduits or containers,
or resulting from casual water entering through leaks or openings in
buildings or by seepage through building walls, but excluding loss or
damage resulting from flood or the rising of the waters of the ocean or
its tributaries; and including insurance against accidental injury of
such sprinklers, pumps, fire apparatus, conduits or containers.
(7) "Burglary and theft insurance," means:
(A) Insurance against loss of, or damage to, any property resulting
from burglary, theft, larceny, robbery, forgery, fraud, vandalism,
malicious mischief, confiscation, or wrongful conversion, disposal, or
concealment by any person, or from any attempt thereof;
(B) Insurance against loss of, or damage to, moneys, coins, bullion,
securities, notes, drafts, acceptances, or any other valuable papers or
documents, resulting from any cause, except while in the custody or
possession of, and being transported by, any carrier for hire or in the
mail;
(C) Insurance of individuals by means of an all-risk type of policy
commonly known as the "Personal Property Floater" against any kind and
all kinds of loss of, or damage to, or loss of use of, any personal
property other than merchandise;
(D) Insurance covering a ransom or reward payment incurred as the
result of an abduction or the theft of property; travel and lodging
expense and lost wages incurred as the result of an act or threatened
act of violence; expense incurred to locate or identify a missing or
abducted person; or other expenses to respond to a violent act or
threatened act, or to prevent a reoccurrence thereof; and
(E) Insurance against losses and expenses resulting from a "stolen
identity event," which shall include the theft, accidental release, or
publication of, or misappropriation of information related to, an
individual's personal identification, social security number, or other
method of identifying the individual, that has resulted in, or could
reasonably result in, the wrongful use of the information.
(8) "Glass insurance," means insurance against loss of or damage to
glass and its appurtenances resulting from any cause.
(9) "Boiler and machinery insurance," means insurance against loss of
or damage to any property of the insured, resulting from explosion of or
injury to:
(A) any boiler, heater or other fired pressure vessel;
(B) any unfired pressure vessel;
(C) pipes or containers connected with any such boilers or vessels;
(D) any engine, turbine, compressor, pump or wheel;
(E) any apparatus generating, transmitting or using electricity; or
(F) any other machinery or apparatus connected with or operated by any
such boilers, vessels or machines; and including the incidental power to
make inspections of, and issue certificates of inspection upon, any such
boilers, apparatus, and machinery, whether insured or otherwise.
(10) "Elevator insurance," means insurance against loss of or damage
to any property of the insured, resulting from ownership, maintenance or
use of elevators, except loss or damage by fire.
(11) "Animal insurance," means insurance against loss of or damage to
any domesticated or wild animal resulting from any cause.
(12) "Collision insurance," means insurance against loss of or damage
to any property of the insured resulting from collision of any other
object with such property, but excluding collision to or by elevators,
or to or by vessels, craft, piers or other instrumentalities of ocean or
inland navigation.
(13) "Personal injury liability insurance," means insurance against
legal liability of the insured, and against loss, damage or expense
incident to a claim of such liability (including the insurer's
obligation to pay medical, hospital, surgical and disability benefits to
injured persons, and funeral and death benefits to dependents,
beneficiaries or personal representatives of persons who are killed,
irrespective of legal liability of the insured), arising out of death or
injury of any person, or arising out of injury to the economic interests
of any person, as the result of negligence in rendering expert,

fiduciary or professional service, but excluding any kind of insurance
specified in paragraph fifteen except insurance to protect an insured
against liability for indemnification or contribution to a third party
held responsible for injury to the insured's employee arising out of and
in the course of employment when such insurance is written pursuant to
this paragraph and not written pursuant to paragraph fifteen of this
subsection.
(14) "Property damage liability insurance," means insurance against
legal liability of the insured, and against loss, damage or expense
incident to a claim of such liability, arising out of the loss or
destruction of, or damage to, the property of any other person, but not
including any kind of insurance specified in paragraph thirteen, fifteen
or twenty-eight of this subsection.
(15) "Workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance," means
insurance against the legal liability, under common law or statute or
assumed by contract, of any employer for the death or disablement of, or
injury to, his employee, including volunteer firefighters' benefit
insurance provided pursuant to the volunteer firefighters' benefit law
including volunteer ambulance workers' benefit insurance provided
pursuant to the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law and insurance
for workers' compensation benefits for death and injuries arising out of
crimes provided by the independent livery driver benefit fund pursuant
to article six-G of the executive law.
(16) "Fidelity and surety insurance," means:
(A) Guaranteeing the fidelity of persons holding positions of public
or private trust; and indemnifying banks, thrifts, brokers and other
financial institutions against loss of money, securities, negotiable
instruments, other specified valuable papers and tangible items of
personal property caused by larceny, misplacement, destruction or other
stated perils including loss while being transported in an armored motor
vehicle or by messenger; and insurance for loss caused by the forgery of
signatures on, or alteration of, specified documents and valuable
papers;
(B) Insurance against losses that financial institutions become
legally obligated to pay by reason of loss of customers' property from
safe deposit boxes;
(C) Any contract bond; including a bid, payment or maintenance bond or
a performance bond where the bond is guaranteeing the execution of any
contract other than a contract of indebtedness or other monetary
obligation;
(D) An indemnity bond for the benefit of a public body, railroad or
charitable organization; a lost security or utility payment bond;
(E) Becoming surety on, or guaranteeing the performance of, any lawful
contract, not specifically provided for in this paragraph, but does not
include becoming surety on, or guaranteeing the performance of:
(i) any insurance contract except as authorized pursuant to section
one thousand one hundred fourteen of this article; or
(ii) any contract, if becoming surety on, or guaranteeing the
performance of that contract, would constitute:
a. mortgage guaranty insurance as defined in subsection (a) of section
six thousand five hundred one of this chapter;
b. financial guaranty insurance as defined in subsection (a) of
section six thousand nine hundred one of this chapter; or
c. service contract reimbursement insurance as defined in paragraph
twenty-eight of this subsection;
(F) Becoming surety on, or guaranteeing the performance of, bonds and
undertakings required or permitted in all judicial proceedings or
otherwise by law allowed, including surety bonds accepted by states and

municipal authorities in lieu of deposits as security for the
performance of insurance contracts;
(G) Becoming surety on, or guaranteeing the performance of, any
agreement for the lease or rental of non-residential real property or
tangible personal property, provided that the obligation of the insurer
shall not exceed a period of five years, and the bond is not issued
directly or indirectly in connection with the sale of securities, a
pooling of financial assets or a credit default swap as defined by
article sixty-nine of this chapter;
(H) Becoming surety on, or guaranteeing the performance of, a contract
of indebtedness or other monetary obligation where: (i) the aggregate
gross principal, interest, and other amounts of indebtedness or other
monetary obligations of any obligor whose obligations are guaranteed by
the insurer under all bonds issued to that obligor pursuant to this
subparagraph by the insurer does not exceed ten million dollars; and
(ii) the bond is not issued directly or indirectly in connection with
the sale of securities, a pooling of financial assets, or a credit
default swap as defined by article sixty-nine of this chapter; and (iii)
the bond by its terms terminates upon any sale or other transfer of the
insured obligation in connection with the sale of securities, a pooling
of financial assets, or a credit default swap as defined by article
sixty-nine of this chapter;
(I) A depository bond that insures deposits in financial institutions
to the extent of the excess over the amount insured by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation; and
(J) Becoming surety on, or guaranteeing the performance of, a bond,
which shall not exceed a period greater than five years, that guarantees
the payment of a premium, deductible, or self-insured retention to an
insurer issuing a workers' compensation or liability policy.
In this chapter "fidelity" insurance shall have the meaning set forth
in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph.
(17) "Credit insurance," means:
(A) Indemnifying merchants or other persons extending credit against
loss or damage resulting from non-payment of debts owed to them, for
goods and services provided in the normal course of their business,
including the incidental power to acquire and dispose of debts so
insured, and to collect any debts owed to such insurer or to the
insured, but no insurance may be written as credit insurance if it falls
within the definition of financial guaranty insurance as set forth in
paragraph one of subsection (a) of section six thousand nine hundred one
of this chapter;
(B) Indemnifying any person for expenses disbursed or to be disbursed
under a contract in connection with the cancellation of a catered
affair;
(C) Indemnifying any person for tuition and other educational expenses
disbursed or to be disbursed under a contract in connection with his or
her dismissal or withdrawal from an educational institution; or
indemnifying elementary or secondary schools, whether public, private,
profit or non-profit, providing education in consideration of a tuition
charge or fee against loss or damage in the event of non-payment of the
tuition charges or fees of a student or pupil dismissed, withdrawn or
leaving before the end of the school year for which the insurance is
written. An educational institution may not require any person
responsible for the payment of a student's or pupil's tuition charge or
fee to pay for tuition refund insurance;
(D) (i)(I) Indemnifying an adoptive parent for verifiable expenses not
prohibited under the law paid to or on behalf of the birth mother when
either one or both of the birth parents of the child withdraw or

withhold their consent to adoption. Such expenses may include
maternity-connected medical or hospital expenses of the birth mother,
necessary living expenses of the birth mother preceding and during
confinement, travel expenses of the birth mother to arrange for the
adoption of the child, legal fees of the birth mother, and any other
expenses that an adoptive parent may lawfully pay to or on behalf of the
birth mother; or (II) Indemnifying an intended parent for financial loss
incurred as a result of the failure by the person acting as surrogate to
perform under the surrogacy contract due to death, bodily injury,
sickness, disappearance of the person acting as surrogate, late
miscarriage, or stillbirth. Such financial loss shall include medical
and hospital expenses, insurance co-payments, deductibles, and
coinsurance, necessary living expenses of the person acting as surrogate
during the term of the surrogacy contract, travel expenses to arrange
for the surrogacy, legal fees of the person acting as surrogate, and any
other expenses that an intended parent may lawfully pay to or on behalf
of the person acting as surrogate; and (ii) For the purposes of this
subparagraph "adoptive parent" means the parent or his or her spouse
seeking to adopt a child, "birth mother" means the biological mother of
the child, "birth parent" means the biological mother or biological
father of the child, and the terms "donor", "intended parent", person
acting as surrogate", and "surrogacy agreement" shall have the meaning
set forth in section 581-102 of the family court act; or
(E) Indemnifying professional sports participants (including any
person who participates or expects to participate as a player, coach,
manager, trainer, physician or other person directly associated with a
player or a team) under contract or the teams with which the contract is
made, entertainers under contract to perform or the entities with which
the contract is made, or business executives under an employment
contract or the entities with which the contract is made, where
contracts between such persons and teams or entities cannot be fulfilled
due to a sports participant's, entertainer's or business executive's
death, personal injury by accident, sickness, ailment or bodily injury
that causes disability, where such indemnification is for the amount of
financial loss that is sustained by the insured party or parties due to
the inability to fulfill the terms of the contract.
(F) Indemnifying any person for expenses disbursed or to be disbursed
for a ticket to an event, including any fees, when the person cannot use
the ticket and the event does not fully reimburse the person for the
expenses or provide a ticket of equal value or a rain check.
(18) "Title insurance," means insuring owners of, and other persons
lawfully interested in, real property and chattels real against loss by
reason of defective titles and encumbrances and insuring the correctness
of searches for all instruments, liens or charges affecting the title to
such property, including power to procure and furnish information
relative thereto, and such other incidental powers as are specifically
granted in this chapter.
(19) "Motor vehicle and aircraft physical damage insurance," means
insurance against loss of or damage to motor vehicles or aircraft and
their equipment resulting from any cause; and insurance reimbursing a
driver for costs including replacement car rental, commercial
transportation and accommodations resulting from an automobile accident
or mechanical breakdown occurring fifty miles or more from the driver's
principal place of residence or garaging.
(20) "Marine and inland marine insurance," means insurance against any
and all kinds of loss of or damage to:
(A) Vessels, hulls, craft, aircraft, cars, automobiles, trailers and
vehicles of every kind, and all goods, freights, cargoes, merchandise,

effects, disbursements, profits, moneys, bullion, precious stones,
securities, choses in action, evidences of debt, valuable papers,
bottomry and respondentia interests and all other kinds of property and
interests therein, in respect to, appertaining to or in connection with
any and all risks or perils of navigation, transit, or transportation,
including war risks, on or under any seas or other waters, on land or in
the air, or while being assembled, packed, crated, baled, compressed or
similarly prepared for shipment or while awaiting the same or during any
delays, storage, transshipment, or reshipment incident thereto,
including marine builder's risks and all personal property floater
risks;
(B) Person or property in connection with or appertaining to marine,
inland marine, transit or transportation insurance, including liability
for loss of or damage to either, arising out of or in connection with
the construction, repair, operation, maintenance or use of the subject
matter of such insurance (but not including life insurance or surety
bonds nor insurance against loss by reason of bodily injury to the
person arising out of ownership, maintenance or use of automobiles);
(C) Precious stones, jewels, jewelry, gold, silver and other precious
metals, whether used in business or trade or otherwise and whether the
same be in course of transportation or otherwise; and
(D) Bridges, tunnels and other instrumentalities of transportation and
communication (excluding buildings, their improvements and betterments,
furniture and furnishings, fixed contents and supplies held in storage),
including auxiliary facilities and equipment attendant thereto; piers,
wharves, docks and slips; other aids to navigation and transportation,
including dry docks and marine railways.
In this chapter "inland marine" insurance shall not include insurance
of vessels, crafts, their cargoes, marine builders' risks, or other
similar risks, commonly insured only under ocean marine insurance
policies.
(21) "Marine protection and indemnity insurance," means insurance
against, or against legal liability of the insured for, loss, damage or
expense arising out of, or incident to, the ownership, operation,
chartering, maintenance, use, repair or construction of any vessel,
craft or instrumentality in use in ocean or inland waterways, including
liability of the insured for personal injury, illness or death or for
loss of or damage to the property of another person.
(22) "Residual value insurance" means insurance issued in connection
with a lease or contract which sets forth a specific termination value
at the end of the term of the lease or contract for the property covered
by such lease or contract, and which insures against loss of economic
value of tangible personal property or real property or improvements
thereto except loss due to physical damage to property, excluding any
lease or contract that falls within the definition of financial guaranty
insurance as set forth in paragraph one of subsection (a) of section six
thousand nine hundred one of this chapter.
(23) "Mortgage guaranty insurance," means the kind of insurance
specified in section six thousand five hundred one of this chapter.
(24) "Credit unemployment insurance" means insurance on a debtor in
connection with a specified loan or other credit transaction within the
state to provide payments to a creditor in the event of unemployment of
the debtor for the installments or other periodic payments becoming due
while a debtor is unemployed.
(25) "Financial guaranty insurance," means the kind of insurance
defined in paragraph one of subsection (a) of section six thousand nine
hundred one of this chapter.
(26) "Gap insurance" means insurance covering the gap amount which is
payable upon the total loss of personal property, which is the subject
of a lease or loan or other credit transaction occasioned by its theft
or physical damage. The kinds of gap insurance are:
(A) "Motor vehicle lessor/creditor gap insurance" which insures the
lessor, creditor, or the lessor's or creditor's assignee, under a motor
vehicle lease or loan or other credit transaction pursuant to which the
lessor, creditor, or, in the absence of a waiver by the lessor or
creditor, the assignee has waived the obligation of the lessee or debtor
for the gap amount;
(B) "Motor vehicle lessee/debtor gap insurance" which insures the
lessee or debtor under a motor vehicle lease or loan or other credit
transaction pursuant to which the lessor, creditor, or the lessor's or
creditor's assignee has not waived the obligation of the lessee or
debtor for the gap amount;
(C) "Non-motor vehicle lessor/creditor gap insurance" which insures
the lessor, creditor, or the lessor's or creditor's assignee, under a
lease or loan or other credit transaction covering personal property
other than a motor vehicle pursuant to which the lessor, creditor, or,
in the absence of a waiver by the lessor or creditor, the assignee, has
waived the obligation of the lessee or debtor for the gap amount; and
(D) "Non-motor vehicle lessee/debtor gap insurance" which insures the
lessee or debtor under a lease or loan or other credit transaction
covering personal property other than a motor vehicle pursuant to which
the lessor, creditor, or the lessor's or creditor's assignee has not
waived the obligation of the lessee or debtor for the gap amount.
(27) "Prize indemnification insurance," means insurance against
financial loss by reason of payment of any sum or item awarded to a
participant in any lawful contest or sports related event.
(28) "Service contract reimbursement insurance" means insurance issued
to a provider pursuant to article seventy-nine of this chapter whereby
the insurer agrees, for the benefit of service contract holders, to
discharge the obligations and liabilities of such provider under the
terms of the service contracts issued by such provider, including the
return of unearned provider fees upon any termination or cancellation of
service contracts, in the event of non-performance of any such
obligations or liabilities by such provider. Such insurance may also
include insurance issued to a provider to indemnify the provider for
losses sustained by reason of the performance of such provider's
obligations under service contracts issued pursuant to article
seventy-nine of this chapter.
(29) "Legal services insurance" means insurance providing legal
services or reimbursement of the cost of legal services.
(30) "Involuntary unemployment insurance" means insurance against the
loss of income due to the involuntary loss of full-time employment which
is the result of an individual or mass layoff or employer termination, a
temporary suspension or permanent cessation of employment or a business
failure.
(31) "Salary protection insurance" means insurance against financial
loss caused by the cessation of earned income due to disability from
sickness, ailment or bodily injury, in an amount up to: (A) that portion
of an individual's annual earned income which is in excess of the amount
of in force disability insurance as defined in paragraph three of this
subsection in an amount not to exceed seventy-five percent of the
individual's annual earned income in total based upon the sum of the in
force disability insurance and salary protection insurance when the
benefits are payable to the individual or the individual's beneficiary;
or (B) where such underlying disability insurance cannot be obtained by

an individual from an authorized insurer, in an amount not to exceed
seventy-five percent of the individual's annual earned income when the
benefits are payable to the individual or the individual's beneficiary.
Any insurer licensed to write disability insurance as defined in
paragraph three of this subsection may also write salary protection
insurance as defined in this paragraph.
(32) "Donor medical expense insurance" means insurance indemnifying an
intended parent for medical or hospital expenses that the intended
parent is contractually obligated to pay under a donor agreement when
the expenses result from medical complications that occur as a result of
the donation of gametes. For the purpose of this paragraph, "donor",
"gametes" and "intended parent" shall have the meaning set forth in
section 581-102 of the family court act.
(33) "Excess business disability insurance," means insurance against
financial loss experienced by a corporate entity or a partnership where
an individual integral to the successful operation of such corporate
entity or partnership becomes disabled due to sickness, ailment or
bodily injury. Such insurance may be obtained in excess of a primary
business-related disability policy, or in the absence of such a policy
if coverage cannot be obtained from an authorized insurer. Excess
business disability insurance coverage may include, but is not limited
to, reimbursement for all overhead costs and expenses and all capital
outlays of a corporate entity or partnership which such corporate entity
or partnership incurs in the ordinary course of business during the
period of disability; and buy/sell arrangements in an amount sufficient
to purchase the disabled individual's interest share in the corporate
entity or partnership.
(34) "Substantially similar kind of insurance," means such insurance
which in the opinion of the superintendent is determined to be
substantially similar to one of the foregoing kinds of insurance and
thereupon for the purposes of this chapter shall be deemed to be
included in that kind of insurance.
(b) Nothing herein contained shall require any insurer to insure every
kind of risk which it is authorized to insure.

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