Senate Commerce Committee Statement — Senate Bill No. 2034 (New Jersey, March 24, 2025)

Summary

Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 2034, with committee amendments, State of New Jersey, dated March 24, 2025. The committee reports favorably on Senate Bill No. 2034, which establishes the “Pet Insurance Act” as a legal framework for selling pet insurance. The statement lists disclosures to consumers, including whether a policy excludes coverage for a preexisting condition, a hereditary disorder, a congenital anomaly or disorder, or a chronic condition. It says the bill limits how insurers can deny claims over preexisting conditions and sets training requirements for insurance producers. The committee amended the bill so that a producer is qualified to be licensed to sell pet insurance if the producer holds an active personal lines line of authority.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

     SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

                    STATEMENT TO

                  SENATE, No. 2034
                  with committee amendments



 STATE OF NEW JERSEY
                    DATED: MARCH 24, 2025

    The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably and with
committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2034.
   As amended, this bill establishes the “Pet Insurance Act,” which
creates a comprehensive legal framework within which pet
insurance may be sold in the State.
   Under the bill, several consumer protections related to policy
renewals, waiting periods, policy limits, conditions, and benefit
schedules are included, including disclosures a pet insurer
transacting pet insurance must disclose to consumers, such as:
   (1) if the policy excludes coverage due to:
   (a) a preexisting condition;
   (b) a hereditary disorder;
   (c) a congenital anomaly or disorder; or
   (d) a chronic condition; and
   (2) if the policy includes any other exclusions, using the
following statement: “Other exclusions may apply. Please refer to
the exclusions section of the policy for more information.”
   The bill provides limits on how insurers can deny pet insurance
claims related to preexisting conditions of covered pets, and
requires the insurer to prove a preexisting condition limitation
applies.
   The bill additionally provides requirements to insurers and
insurance producers to clearly differentiate pet wellness programs
from insurance policies to eliminate consumer confusion between
what services are covered by insurance.
    The bill provides training requirements for insurance producers
to ensure that producers are appropriately prepared to present
information to consumers. The bill also stipulates that an insurance
producer can only be licensed to sell pet insurance if the producer
holds an active life, health, personal lines, or property and casualty
line of authority.
    As reported by the committee, Senate Bill No. 2034 is identical to
Assembly Bill No. 1203 (1R), which was also reported by the
committee on this date.
                                    2

   This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 2024-2025 session
pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes
required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
   The committee amended the bill to stipulate that an insurance
producer is qualified to be licensed to sell pet insurance if the producer
holds an active personal lines line of authority.


File and source

File

2025-03-24_SCM_S2034_S1.pdf

Size

113,838 bytes

SHA-256

5d73ae0934b95e59f06fe753d20a9ded02e695edcca969efe2fd8a2bb8ed0235

Our copy

2025-03-24_SCM_S2034_S1.pdf

Original

No public link identified.