Declarations – East

Following N.Y.’s Lead

“The agreement reached with Assurant can serve as a template for other states to adopt.”

—New York Financial Services Superintendent Ben Lawsky in his April 5 letter addressed to fellow regulators. He said his department’s recent settlement with the country’s largest “force-placed” insurer Assurant can serve as a template. He said his department’s investigation into the force-placed market had found that insurers and banks have built a network of relationships that have driven premium rates to “inappropriately high levels.”

Punitive Damages

“Punitive damages are not insurable under Rhode Island law. The department will, therefore, reject any form filing that includes insuring of punitive damages.”

—Rhode Island’s Insurance Superintendent Joseph Torti’s statement in a March 28 bulletin. His department has recently seen an increase in proposals to include punitive damages in policy forms, which has prompted the department to issue the new bulletin affirming that punitive damages are not insurable under the state’s law.

Misclassifying Workers

“Some employers will misclassify workers as independent contractors with the intent of avoiding their obligations under employment laws covering such matters as workers’ compensation, unemployment taxes and payroll reporting.”

—Connecticut State Labor Commissioner Sharon Palmer on why some construction firms continue to misclassify workers. Connecticut recently issued “stop work” orders to 27 firms working at construction project sites in Stamford for misclassifying workers during the period of Jan. 9 to March 14.