If an insurer that is not authorized to do business in New York sells a group plan that happens to cover New York residents, it can communicate with those insureds only through mail and electronic mail.
Officials in the Office of General Counsel at the New York Department of Insurance have come to that conclusion in an opinion recently posted on the department website.
Officials say the group plan insurers cannot call the insureds, provide telephone numbers in mailed communications, or communicate with the insureds through any type of Internet technology other than e-mail.
Insurers that are not authorized to do business in New York normally cannot do any business in the state, officials write in the opinion. But the state insurance law does establish a “mail order” exception for some group life, group accident and health, and blanket accident and health plans.