Apr 12, 2016

N.J.'s certificates of insurance law in effect

As PIANJ reported, Gov. Chris Christie signed S-3270, PIANJ’s top-priority certificates of insurance legislation, on Jan. 11, 2016. The new law, P.L.2015, c.195, takes effect Sunday, April 10, 2016, and addresses inappropriate, and now illegal, requests often made by insureds or lenders of insurance agents.

The law’s provisions apply to all certificates of insurance issued in connection with property, operations or risks in the state. Any false or misleading information in a certificate would be a violation of the state’s insurance fraud act. In addition to regulating the use of certificates, the new law provides the Department of Banking and Insurance with the authority to enforce the law.

PIANJ has developed materials to educate association members and their clients about the new legislation. Some of the materials include:

• a comprehensive FAQ to answer some of the commonly asked questions about the law;
• an easy-to-use online portal to report potential violations of the law to PIANJ;
• an in-depth tool kit, Certificates Info Central, which is a one-stop shop for everything relating to certificates, including resource documents and previously answered questions by PIA’s technical staff; and
• access to consumer content to help educate your clients about the changes to the law.

Did you miss the PIA Webinar on COI?

PIANJ will present an encore presentation of New Jersey Certificates of Insurance Act on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, from 10-11 a.m. Led by PIANJ Government Affairs Counsel Bradford J. Lachut, Esq., this one-hour Webinar will cover the intricacies of this new legislation and what it means for you and your clients.