Until 1849, insurance companies doing business in New York were chartered by special acts of the Legislature. A law passed that year (Chapter 308) required prospective insurance companies to file incorporation papers with the secretary of state. The law also vested regulatory power over insurance companies with the comptroller, who was authorized to require the companies to submit annual financial statements and to deny a company the right to operate if capital securities and investments did not remain secure.
The Insurance Department was created in 1859 (Chapter 366) and assumed the functions of the comptroller and secretary of state relating to insurance. The department was headed by a superintendent appointed by the governor. The agency was continued unchanged after the 1925 constitutional reorganization of State government (Laws of 1926, Chapter 353).
The Insurance Frauds Prevention Act of 1981 (Chapter 720) granted the Department authority to investigate cases of suspected insurance fraud, force the cessation of fraudulent activities, and cooperate with law enforcement agencies in the prosecution and conviction of persons who are parties to insurance fraud. The act also provided for the creation of an insurance frauds bureau within the Department to administer and enforce the act?s provisions.
In 1998, the Holocaust Victims Insurance Act was passed (Chapter 259) to assist persons seeking to recover proceeds from insurance policies issued to or covering the life or property of Holocaust victims. The legislation directed all insurers organized, registered, licensed, or accredited to conduct business in the State to diligently and expeditiously investigate claims relating to policies originally issued to or held by Holocaust victims, and to accept, if necessary, alternative forms of documentation from claimants. The act also directed insurers to make appropriate payments to claimants irrespective of any statute of limitations or notice requirements imposed by any law or stipulated in the terms of the original policy.In addition to its main office located in Manhattan (New York City), the Department has staff located in offices in Brooklyn, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Oneonta, and Mineola.
From the New York State Archives, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY. Agency record NYSV86-A362
