Brooklyn, NY – Lawmakers To Introduce Bedbug Insurance Legislation

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    Brooklyn, NY – Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) and Senate Majority Conference Leader John Sampson have announced that they intend to introduce bedbug insurance legislation. Their bill will require insurers who underwrite property and casualty policies in New York State to offer policies which cover the costs associated with bedbug infestations.

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    “This legislation is long overdue,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “Nearly every day you read another story about a bedbug infestation, be it in an upscale department store, an emergency room, or in a private residence. People should not be forced into financial ruin because of a bedbug infestation. We can no longer allow insurance companies to deny coverage for bedbug infestations by classifying the infestation as a standard maintenance issue. I am proud to sponsor this legislation to give people some peace of mind as they battle this epidemic.”

    The legislation provides that insurance companies must reimburse renters, homeowners, co-op and condo owners who experience a bedbug infestation for all infestation-related costs, including: extermination services, cleaning of the insured’s property and personal property (such as clothing and bedding), as well as the cost of replacing items which cannot be treated or cleaned, like mattresses or furniture.
    The amount of compensation will vary from case to case depending on the amount of damage sustained.

    This bill will also allow residential building owners and condo and co-op associations to purchase bedbug insurance for the entire structure.

    Senate Majority Conference Leader John L. Sampson remarked, “Bedbug infestations in our homes, stores, and hospitals are an unsafe, unhealthy, and costly nuisance burdening far too many New Yorkers. This legislation will provide common sense protection for families being denied coverage for bedbug infestation by insurance companies. I applaud my friend and colleague, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, for his vision and leadership in sponsoring with me this vital legislation that will correct an injustice which has gone on for far too long.”

    If the bill passes, it will take effect 90 days after it has become law, and will be implemented by the New York State Commissioner of Insurance.


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    11 Comments
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    PIGGLYWIGGLYWIG
    PIGGLYWIGGLYWIG
    13 years ago

    What a great idea! Finally something to help people! I had bedbugs in my apartment and we had to move. Insurance wouldve helped us a lot to pay for everything. Thank you, Reb Dov!

    major problem
    major problem
    13 years ago

    This would be great news! I got them from my neighbor!!! Their kids brought them… Its crazy how they spread! Wish I would have known before they multiplied like crazy in my house. I’m scared to have guests or even be a guest elsewhere for fear of bringing them with me!

    Nobody
    Nobody
    13 years ago

    No, I do not want my home owners insurance going up. I can bear the risks of a bedbug infestation and pay for any cleanup out of pocket. I don’t need the State mandating I buy stuff I don’t need.

    Babishka
    Member
    Babishka
    13 years ago

    Bring back DDT and your bedbug problem is gone.

    13 years ago

    there is no free ride insurance rates will just go up,
    how are landlords going to make sure tenants are clean which is required to to be bedbug free?

    13 years ago

    To all those who bring home “orchim” and are afraid to do so since the infestation of bed bugs, please think again. I promise you its not the mitzva of hachnusas orchim that brought you the bedbugs. Hashem would never allow this to happen. It’s time you look at yourself and ask what did I do wrong??? Maybe you need to do tshuva? Everything happens for a reason. I know, because I’m in the same boat too, and I will not stop hachnusas orchim. Hashem will give me schar for taking in HIs people. You can prevent bedbugs frm entering your house by shpritzing poison around your beds each time a guest leaves, You can buy these sprays at any Exterminator store.

    major problem
    major problem
    13 years ago

    This would be great news! I got them from my neighbor!!! Their kids brought them… Its crazy how they spread! Wish I would have known before they multiplied like crazy in my house. I’m scared to have guests or even be a guest elsewhere for fear of bringing them with me!

    hire a bed bug dog!
    hire a bed bug dog!
    13 years ago

    I had bed bugs- learn from this a lesson.
    1) Its not a “dirty home” issue- my home is spotless and a guest brought them in!! I did my research and found out that this guest previously stayed at another home which was infested!! They are known to hitch hike in luggage and clothing!
    I have been bed bug free for 2 years now and I still have guests. How do I sleep at night? I have a bed bug dog come search my house every few months! Its a worthw
    hile expense!

    Michel
    Michel
    13 years ago

    How about insurance for mice, cockroaches, spiders, mites from plants that you can never get rid of. Or insurance in case you left the window open and it rained in? This is silly legislation. The ins companies can create a new policy for bedbugs and if a homeowner wnats it he can buy it and if not, not. To mandate it as part of homeowners insurance just drives costs up.

    CiLecto
    CiLecto
    13 years ago

    #4 . DDT resistance was already noted in the 50s and substitutes began to be used then.
    #7. Getting rid of “vantzen” can be very expensive and time consuming, more complex than simply shpritzing “chemicals that you buy in an exterminator shop”. You might wish to consult with a rav to determine if you are truly protected just because you are doing a mitzvah.

    The resurgence of bedbugs is a potentially a serious problem for the community at large, but particularly for the “frum” world, where people are “mamash” in each others homes all the time, where life is about coming together (shul, shiurim, simchos) and about chesed and sharing. Example: Someone is an “avel”. An organization, “no questions asked”, brings you comfortable chairs and a portable shul. Now imagine that one or more of the 100s of people who came to the “shiva house”, or perhaps the house itself has bedbugs. Next week, all these things are in someone else’s house. Imagine the hundreds of people who devite their time and space to “g’machs” of various items, having to contend with bedbugs.

    That said, I believe that the frum community is uniquily suited to tackle this problem. Time after time, it has proven itself capable of instituting new aproaches to problems. City ambulances too slow? Start Hatzalah. Insects in vegetables? Light boxes everywhere. Copepods in the water? Ez-filters. Think of the kashering stations that pop up before Pesach. There are tools and techniques available that can help greatly, like Vancouver’s “bed bug sauna” that bakes bugs to death in furniture. If the frum community confronts this pest head on as it’s dealt with other “issues” (and doesn’t treat it as one more thing to hide, else no one will marry your kids), it may well show the way for the the rest of the community.