Int 0401-1998

Be it enacted by the Council as follows: Section 1. Chapter 71 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a new section 2907 to read as follows: �2907. Office for automobile insurance oversight. a. There shall be an office for automobile insurance oversight within the department which shall monitor and oversee rates for automobile insurance for residents of New York City. A director of the office for automobile insurance oversight shall be appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council who shall be in charge of such office. Such director shall report to the commissioner who shall be responsible for providing such office with the necessary staff and resources. b. It shall be the responsibility of the director of the office for automobile insurance oversight to provide information upon request to any automobile insurance consumer or prospective automobile insurance consumer who requests information about automobile insurance rates and coverage and the cost of labor and parts for automobile repairs throughout the state of New York. The director shall obtain such information from any available source including, but not limited to, the New York state insurance department, automobile insurance companies and automobile repair shops and shall be responsible for compiling comparative statistics on the automobile insurance coverage offered by each insurance company and their respective rates for specific categories of drivers and of automobiles according to make, model and model year and information about the cost of various repairs according to the make, model and model year of the automobile. The director shall also maintain a toll-free telephone number with an automated information system and in internet website through which consumers may obtain this information. Such information shall be updated on a monthly basis. The director shall also record any information received or obtained about allocations of automobile insurance fraud and may undertake investigations with respect to such allegations. Such allegations and any other information received or obtained by the director relating to such allegation shall be forwarded to the district attorney for the county in which the alleged fraud occurred. The director shall also be responsible for advocating before the state insurance department on behalf of drivers who are city residents in order to combat unfair business practices and discriminatory insurance rates to which these drivers are subject. c. The director shall compile and submit an annual report to the council, which shall also be available to the public and published on the internet, which lists each insurance company monitored, the automobile insurance coverage offered, the rates charged by such company and any chance in those rates since the immediately prior annual report. �2. This local law shall take effect six months after its enactment into law. 1 2