Legislation Introduced to Enhance Insurance Protections for Emergencies

NEW YORK CITY-Legislation to provide enhanced insurance protections for New York business owners was introduced by Governor George Pataki. The legislation is designed to allow for the availability of more meaningful, adequate and flexible coverage options for economic loss resulting from business interruptions in times of emergencies.

The bill creates a new stand-alone line of coverage called “civil authority insurance,” which would authorize insurers to provide additional coverage to protect businesses when an action of a governmental authority results in the loss of business income. It would expand the benefits currently offered under Business Interruption insurance by eliminating the prerequisite of actual physical damage to the insureds’ premises as the trigger for such coverage.