The New York Department of Financial Services (the “Department”) has made a major step in making it easier for the public to view property and casualty insurance company rate, rule and form filings through a free online database.  These filings are used by P&C insurers to, among other things, introduce new products, support rate increases, or make changes to coverages on existing products.

The Department’s new on-line database will allow users to download these filings in real time as a PDF.  Previously, those wishing to obtain a filing had to make a Freedom of Information request and could wait for ten days or more for a response to be mailed to them.

The filings available for download include all those submitted to the Department electronically since January 1, 2010.

With regard to confidential information, the Department’s press release states that, “[a]s in the past, the Department will carefully scrutinize the material that it makes publicly available to ensure that confidential information is not released.  Such information may include data that is considered proprietary to insurers.”

To view the website, click here.