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New York

Telecom Compliance Reference — Updated September 2023

Mini-TCPA State — High Risk

Calling Hours

8:00 AM–9:00 PM

Min Penalty

$2,000

Registration

Required

Overview Calling Hours Consent Registration DNC Enforcement Case Law Legislation

Insurance Telemarketing Compliance in New York

Insurance agency telemarketing and lead generation compliance in New York

Guide last reviewed: January 2025

⚠

Mini-TCPA State — N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §§ 399-p, 399-z

New York imposes stricter consent and calling requirements than federal TCPA.Insurance companies operating here face $2,000 per-violation penalties.

New York Insurance Overview

Insurance telemarketing is the single highest-enforcement-activity sector in New York for 2024-2025. The DOS consent orders against Sicuro Health, Essential Health, Citizens Disability, and others demonstrate that health-related telemarketing draws disproportionate enforcement attention. Medicare and ACA marketplace calls during enrollment periods face heightened scrutiny from both DOS and CMS. The one-to-one consent rule (FCC Jan 2025) is particularly disruptive for health insurance lead aggregators — the shared consent model is legally dead. NY-licensed insurance agents have a partial compliance advantage: the bond/fee exemption under GBL § 399-pp reduces registration costs. But the license does not exempt from DNC compliance, disclosure requirements, or consent obligations for automated calling. Manual dialing by licensed agents to non-DNC numbers with proper call-start disclosures remains the safest prospecting approach in NY.

Penalty/Violation

$2,000

Willful

$20,000

Calling Hours

8:00 AM–9:00 PM

Private Suit

Allowed

Compliance Checklist

✓Register with NY DOS as telemarketing business — NY insurance license may qualify for bond/fee exemption under GBL § 399-pp(2)(b) but you still must register,Submit proof of DFS (Department of Financial Services) license to DOS to claim bond/fee exemption,Scrub Federal NDNC before every outbound campaign,At call start (within 30 seconds): name, company, DNC opt-out offer — Nuisance Call Act compliance,Written consent required for prerecorded sales messages — must include customer signature and phone number,Medicare/Medicaid enrollment: follow CMS call recording and consent requirements in addition to NY state telemarketing laws,Do not purchase health insurance or Medicare leads with bundled consent — FCC one-to-one rule makes these leads unusable for automated outreach,Licensed agents calling existing policyholders about current coverage: EBR exemption applies for live manual calls only,Never block caller ID — GBL § 399-p(6-a),Honor opt-out requests immediately,Maintain 24-month records per Nuisance Call Act,Do not share customer contact data with third parties without express written consent

What Gets Companies Sued

✗Top violations for insurance telemarketing in NY: (1) Health insurance lead generation companies making unsolicited calls to DNC numbers — DOS consent orders against Sicuro Health ($52K), Essential Health ($40K), and Citizens Disability ($125K) all involved health-related telemarketing; (2) Assuming insurance license exempts from ALL telemarketing requirements (it exempts bond/fee only); (3) Using automated dialers for Medicare AEP/OEP outreach without proper consent; (4) Not providing DNC opt-out at start of calls; (5) Sharing customer contact information with third-party lead buyers without written consent.

Special Exemptions

NY-licensed insurance agents/companies may claim exemption from the $500 registration fee and $25,000 bond under GBL § 399-pp(2)(b) as businesses licensed with a state agency (NY DFS). Must still register with DOS and submit proof of licensure. EBR exemption under GBL § 399-z applies for existing policyholders — but only for live manual calls about current coverage. Cold calling prospects, automated calling, and prerecorded messages all require full compliance with consent and registration requirements.

Key State Rules

Mini-TCPAYes

RegistrationRequired

Class ActionsAllowed

Consent Requirements→Registration Details→DNC List→

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This is a compliance reference tool, not legal advice. Data compiled from public statutes, LegiScan, CourtListener, state AG offices, and AI-assisted analysis. Verify all information with qualified counsel before relying on it. Full terms & data sources →