Long Island

PIANY Vice President Gary Slavin, CLTC, CIC; Treasurer and NY-YIP past president Jason E. Bartow, AAI, CPIA; PIANY Directors Justin Fries, CIC, CPCU, CPIA, and Jorge Hernandez; and PIANY past Presidents Alan Plafker, CPIA, N. Stephen Ruchman, CPIA, and Gene Sandy, CIC, met with Sen. John Brooks, D-8; Sen. James F. Gaughran, D-5; Sen. Mario R. Mattera, R-2; Sen. Alexis Weik, R-3; Emmitt Gienapp, legislative director, and Sara Felson, legislative analyst and community liaison, for Sen. Todd Kaminsky, D-9; Joseph Erdman, legislative director/director committee on Commerce, Economic Development, Small Business Office, and Audrey Fountain, legislative intern, for Sen. Anna M. Kaplan, D-7; Jaimie Sheehan, counsel/legislative director for Sen. Kevin Thomas, D-6; Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., D-1; and Lainie Altman, chief of staff for Assemblyman Michael A. Durso, R-9.

Through these smaller district meetings, PIANY's representatives had the opportunity to meet one-one-one with legislators and their staffs to discuss PIANY's 2022 legislative initiatives. PIANY works tirelessly on behalf of independent agents, their businesses and the consumers and businesses they serve for the passage of a comprehensive legislative agenda for 2022.

The 2022 legislative agenda included several important consumer issues including:

• allow carriers to waive photo verification;
• simplify the requirements of agents and brokers placing business in the state’s excess-line marketplace;
• repeal of the anti-arson application requirement in New York City;
• standardize the definition of windstorm;
• protect consumers from carrier “bait-and-switch” activities;
• authorizing the NYSIF to pay commissions to licensed brokers; and
• oppose statutory bad faith.