S 9179 New York Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Prohibits insurance discrimination on the basis of an insured's marital status following the death of the insured's spouse

This bill prohibits insurers from discriminating against widowed individuals by refusing coverage, canceling policies, charging higher premiums, or limiting coverage based on their marital status after a spouse's death. It directly affects widowed policyholders purchasing or renewing property, auto, home, or renter's insurance. The law requires insurers to treat widowed customers the same as those in other marital statuses, applying to all policies issued or renewed after the effective date. It takes effect January 1st following enactment.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 11, 2026 Last action Jun 3, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S9179 → S9179A · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill amends an existing law to specifically prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage, canceling policies, or raising premiums for individuals who have become widowed. It clarifies that marital status changes due to the death of a spouse cannot be used as a reason for adverse insurance actions.

Scope change

The bill's scope is narrowed to specifically address the death of a spouse, whereas the previous version broadly prohibited discrimination based on marital status without explicitly defining the impact of widowhood.

ELIGIBILITY

The specific protections against discrimination were updated to explicitly cover situations where an applicant or policyholder is widowed or their marital status reflects the death of a spouse.

REQUIREMENT

The list of prohibited insurer actions was revised to include 'increasing a policyholder's premium rate' and imposing 'less favorable terms' upon renewal, ensuring these specific financial penalties are covered under the new language.

TECHNICAL

The bill was amended and renumbered to version A, and the committee assignment was updated to reflect that the committee has been discharged and the bill is being reprinted.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

PRINT NUMBER 9179A

upper

Apr 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO INSURANCE

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

REFERRED TO INSURANCE

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors