N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 15 § 34.9

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 25, June 18, 2024

Section 34.9 - Technical filing specifications

(a) Introduction. An insurance company or servicing agent shall submit notices required by this Part using commercial translator/mapping software in full accordance with the most current version of DMV's Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Reporting (MVLIR) Implementation Guide, this Part and Part 32 of this Title and articles 6 and 8 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. DMV's MVLIR is based on version 3050 of the national ANSI ASC X12 811 transaction set. The department reserves the right to upgrade the version used for reporting motor vehicle liability insurance notices to version 4010 or higher upon giving 180 days notice to insurers and servicing agents.

(b) Form of notices (reporting media). Except as otherwise provided for in this Part, notices submitted by an insurance company or servicing agent shall be in the EDI format prescribed by technical filing specifications of this Part and DMV's MVLIR implementation guide and must be received by DMV's mailbox on its selected value added network (VAN).

(c) Data compatibility. The insurance industry (insurance companies, insurance agents and insurance brokers) and the New York State automobile insurance plan (NYAIP) shall employ administrative and operational procedures and computer processing, verification and database systems that properly capture, store, validate required data and transmit notices to DMV that contain required policy data that is compatible with the department's registration data. The insurance industry shall:

(1) use/verify paper and electronic source documents, including registrations, driver's licenses, title certificates, manufacturer's certificates of origin and so forth to obtain compatible registrant and vehicle information;

(2) obtain name and vehicle information from registrations already in existence at the time of policy inception or amendment;

(3) follow insurance ID card issuance procedures set forth in Part 32 of this Title; and

(4) utilize commercial VIN validation software that validates the complete VIN.

Electronic and manual proof of insurance notices submitted to DMV by an insurance company or servicing agent in the form of LOD, NBS and REI notices, required by this Part, must match DMV registration records.

(d) Processing. Upon receipt, notices will be processed through DMV's EDI translator and application programs for the purpose of verification of EDI and DMV MVLIR format and reporting requirements by identifying missing or invalid data as well as notices submitted for excluded registration classifications. Edit errors will result in the exclusion of notices from DMV's matching application. Transactions passing EDI and application editing will be included in DMV's daily electronic matching and electronic exceptions resolution processes. Resolved no-hit exceptions, unresolved no-hit exceptions and application edit errors will be acknowledged via an EDI 811 return transaction. Hits will not be acknowledged via an EDI 811 return transaction but will be included on official DMV statistical reports and posted to DMV's insurance information database along with resolved no-hit exceptions. Translator edit errors will be returned via an EDI 997 error. A NBS notice shall be reprocessed (matching retried) on a daily basis by DMV for a period not to exceed 45 days after such notice's effective date. A NBS notice resulting in a resolved no-hit exception during this period will be returned to an insurance company or servicing agent the next business day. A NBS notice unmatched after expiration of the reprocessing period will be returned to an insurance company or servicing agent as an unresolved no-hit exception the next business day. This facility is provided by DMV in recognition that a NBS notice may be submitted before a computerized registration record has been created as a result of a vehicle's registration. Reprocessing avoids continual return and resubmission of unmatched NBS notices during the period that a registrant may legally operate a vehicle using a paper 45 day temporary registration issued by a licensed NYS motor vehicle dealer.

(e) Performance reports. DMV shall produce official performance reports that detail and measure an insurance company's performance in key measurement areas. An insurance company or servicing agent shall obtain official DMV weekly and periodic performance reports from a designated IIES web site using access security measures established by DMV during that period of time when reports are published on such site. Official DMV performance reports include the following: DMV initiated verification transaction report, edit error report, filing report, late filing profile and matched resubmission report. Additional descriptive information on each official DMV performance report is provided in section 34.2 of this Part.

(f) Definitions of key data elements.

(1) An insurance company or servicing agent shall submit data in full compliance with the definitions and specifications contained in this Part including DMV's MVLIR implementation guide.

(2) Additional insured name. Please see insured name. All additional insured names (both individuals and organizations) who are registrants shall be submitted. Note: DMV's MVLIR implementation guide details additional insured name as optional because all polices do not have additional insured names.

(3) Additional insured date of birth (DOB). The actual date of birth of an individual additional named insured. The date element shall be in YYMMDD format and contain valid numeric characters. The century element shall contain valid numeric characters that represent a valid century of birth for a living individual. Date and century shall not be alpha, alpha/numeric or incomplete. No default values shall be submitted.

(4) Additional insured gender. The gender (sex) of an individual additional named insured. Gender shall be submitted as F for female, M for male and U for unknown. U shall be submitted only if the gender is actually unknown and shall not be used as a default for expediency. No characters other than F, M or U shall be used.

(5) Cancellation effective date. The actual date that insurance coverage was canceled or terminated (except for hire) or will be canceled or terminated (for hire) for all vehicles on a policy or a vehicle deleted from a policy without replacement. Liability insurance coverage ends at 12:01a.m. on the effective date of cancellation. For example, if an insurance company notifies DMV of a cancellation with an effective date of November 15, 2000, our processing will reflect that the cancellation took effect at 12:01a.m. on November 15, 2000. Therefore, there is no insurance coverage provided on November 15, 2000 or thereafter. Cancellation effective date shall not represent an administrative, mailing, processing or other date prior to or subsequent to the actual effective date of the cancellation. Cancellation effective date shall correspond to the termination effective date in a termination notice provided directly to the policyholder by an insurance company. Cancellation effective date may be the termination date requested in writing by the policyholder or the effective date of a superseding liability insurance policy obtained by the policyholder. The date element shall be in YYMMDD format, contain valid numeric characters, represent a valid date for the transaction and be complete without any modification. The century element shall contain valid numeric characters, represent a valid century for the transaction and be complete without modification. Date and century shall not be alpha, alpha/numeric or incomplete. No default values shall be submitted.

(6) Century of vehicle. The century assigned to a specific vehicle by the manufacturer, remanufacturer, DMV or other government entity. Century of vehicle shall represent a valid century of manufacture for the vehicle and shall be complete without any modification. Century shall not be alpha, alpha/numeric or incomplete.

(7) Effective date. The actual date that liability insurance coverage became effective (or will become effective- for hire) for a policy, a vehicle added to a policy or other activity defined in this Part. Effective date is comprised of separate date and century elements. Effective date shall not represent an administrative, mailing, processing or other date prior to or subsequent to the actual effective date. If a registrant is obtaining superseding coverage in a timely manner, the effective date of the new coverage shall coincide with the cancellation effective date of the old coverage to preclude a lapse in coverage. Effective date shall be the date from DMV's mandatory verification (MVF) when an insurance company is responding to DMV with a no insurance (NIS) transaction. The effective date in a DMV initiated mandatory verification (MVF) transaction shall represent the coverage effective date from paper proof of insurance, e.g., insurance ID card, the date of registration, or the date of accident or traffic ticket. The effective date in a DMV initiated negative verification (NVF) transaction shall be the batch processing date. The date element shall be in YYMMDD format, contain valid numeric characters, represent a valid date for the transaction and be complete without modification. The century element shall contain valid numeric characters, represent a valid century for the transaction and be complete without modification. Date and century shall not be alpha, alpha/numeric or incomplete. No default values shall be submitted.

(8) Federal employer identification number (FEIN). The unique number assigned to a specific organizational entity by the Internal Revenue Service. Federal employer identification number may default to zeros when an organization does not have a FEIN.

(9) Identification code. The unique number assigned to an insurance company by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). An insurance company shall report notices using its own NAIC number. An insurance company group writing policies under multiple company names shall not report notices using a single NAIC code. A single insurer within an insurance company group may be the sender or servicing agent for all or a portion of the companies within the insurance company group.

(10) Insured date of birth (DOB). The actual date of birth of the individual named insured. The date element shall be in YYMMDD format and contain valid numeric characters. The century element shall contain numeric characters that represent a valid century for a living individual. Date and century shall not be alpha, alpha/numeric or incomplete. No default values shall be submitted.

(11) Insured gender. The actual gender (sex) of an individual named insured. Gender shall be submitted as F for female, M for male and U for unknown. U shall be submitted only if the gender is actually unknown and shall not used as a default for expediency.

(12) Insured name/additional insured name. All individual and organizational names listed on insurance ID cards and insurance certificates issued by or on behalf of an insurance company, either directly, through agents, or through brokers in conjunction with the New York automobile insurance plan (NYAIP) AND/OR all registrant names (and vehicles) listed on NYS vehicle registration documents and corresponding DMV computer registration records insured under a motor vehicle liability insurance policy. Up to nine individual and/or organization names may be submitted with a policy notice. Excluded names: vehicle owners (title holders), lessors, lessees, lien holders, loss payees, drivers and others who are not registrants. Insured name/additional insured name shall correspond to and coincide with registrant name. Insured name/additional insured name shall not contain any periods, apostrophes or other special characters. A hyphen may be used for a hyphenated last name (surname) for an individual, e.g., SMITH-JONES and within an organization name, e.g., ON-CALL DELIVERY INC. An ampersand and numeric characters may be used within organization names. DMV will not register a vehicle without proper documentation of registrant name. Proof of identity is required for an individual. Legal documentation, such as incorporation papers or a DBA filing with a county clerk is required for an organization. Accordingly, a liability insurance policy and insurance ID cards or insurance certificates shall not be issued in a name or names not legally supported for registration.

(i) Individual or co-registrants (two individuals). Registration name shall be submitted, in the name element order of last name (surname), first name (given name) and middle name (or initial). If the individual is not yet a registrant, the name must be acceptable for registration. Names shall not begin with first name or middle names. Individual names including two individual names (co-registrants) shall not contain the words/symbols AND, &, AND/OR, &/OR and so forth. Prefixes and suffixes shall not be included within name except as noted herein. Hyphenated names shall be submitted completely with the name component before the hyphen listed first. Acceptable individual name examples:

JONES JOHN JAY

SMITH-JONES SANDRA S

Unacceptable individual name examples:

JOHN JAY JONES

JONES JR JOHN J

JR JONES JOHN J

JONES SANDRA SMITH

JOHN AND SANDRA JONES

JONES JOHN & SANDRA

ESTATE OF JOHN JONES

Note:ESTATE OF JOHN JONES is also unacceptable as an organization name. A registration generally remains in the name of the deceased, is transferred to a surviving spouse, or the vehicle is registered in the name of the executor, executrix, administrator, etc. of the estate. Otherwise, ownership is transferred to a new owner who generally becomes the registrant. The greatest percentage of matched notices will result from submitting the name of the deceased.

(ii) Organization. Registration name shall be submitted. If the organization is not yet a registrant, the name used must be acceptable for registration, e.g., supported by a certificate of incorporation, DBA filing with a county clerk, etc. Organization names include corporations, professional corporations, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, corporate DBAs, individual DBAs and so forth. Acceptable organization name examples:

FORT ORANGE POWER CORP (corporation)

HARVEY JONES TRUCKING (corporation)

MOHAWK VALLEY DENTAL CARE PC (professional corporation)

SANDERSON CONSULTING LLP (limited liability partnership)

GIMMEE PIZZA (corporate DBA)

JOHN JONES DBA JONES REMODELING

Note:The above example represents DMV's individual DBA name editing that became effective on 01/03/2000. DMV did not allow registration in the name of an individual DBA until February of 1997. An individual DBA was registered with the last name entered first during calendar years 1997, 1998 and 1999. Insured names submitted for the same policy can include JONES JOHN (individual) and JOHN JONES DBA JONES REMODELING (organization). In many cases a vehicle is actually registered in an individual name, not an individual DBA (organization) name.

Unacceptable organization name examples:

JONES HARVEY TRUCKING (corporation with name reversed)

CAPITAL DISTRICT RESTAURANT GROUP DBA GIMME PIZZA (corporate and DBA names included)

(13) Insurer name. The legal name of an individual insurance company.

(14) Issuer license number. The unique license number assigned to an agent, broker, insurance company or the New York automobile insurance plan (NYAIP) by the NYS Insurance Department. The number, if available, will be contained in a DMV initiated mandatory verification (MVF) notice to identify the licensee that issued an insurance ID card.

(15) NYS driver's license number. The unique nine character numeric number assigned to a specific NYS licensed driver who is the named insured or additional named insured. A partial or modified number shall not be submitted. A former NYS 19 or 22 character alpha/numeric motorist identification number (MI) shall not be submitted. The NYS driver's license number may default to zeros only if the named insured does not have a NYS driver's license number. Default values or fictitious license numbers shall not be used by as insurance company for expedience.

(16) DMV tracking number. The unique number assigned to unresolved no-hit exception and certain edit error transactions returned by DMV and to DMV initiated mandatory verification (MVF) transactions. The specific tracking number shall be returned to DMV with the corresponding resubmission or MVF response (NBS or NIS). If there are two outstanding tracking numbers for the same insured/registrant name and vehicle, the tracking number associated with the most recent DMV notice shall be used. An insurance company or servicing agent shall not submit multiple notices and tracking numbers for the same insured/vehicle unless a submission, resubmission or response was returned unmatched.

(17) Make of vehicle. The NICB, DMV, insurance company or other proprietary code used to designate or represent the make of the vehicle. Make of vehicle shall not contain fictitious or default values such as UNKN, N/A, OTHER, or AAAAA.

(18) Prefix. The general rule is that name prefixes such as DR or MR shall not be submitted within the name data element. Rather, any prefixes shall be submitted as a separate data element in accordance with DMV MVLIR specifications. EXCEPTION: In some cases, certain prefixes such as SISTER may have been included as part of the name on a NYS registration document and electronic record. In these instances the SISTER prefix shall be required to be submitted as part of the name data element to achieve a match (hit or resolved no-hit exception) if the registrant does not have a NYS driver's license.

(19) Suffix. Name suffixes such a JR, SR, etc. shall not be submitted within the name data element. Rather, any suffixes shall be submitted as a separate data element within the MVLIR specifications.

(20) Termination effective date. See cancellation effective date.

(21) Vehicle identification number. The unique alpha/numeric identifier assigned to a specific vehicle by the manufacturer, remanufacturer, DMV or government entity in another jurisdiction. A VIN submitted by an insurance company or servicing agent shall:

(i) be complete without any modification;

(ii) contain the actual number of characters corresponding to the standard employed by the vehicle manufacturer for the year designated by such manufacturer, except for a VIN assigned by a government entity; and

(iii) conform with applicable Federal government standards imposed on manufacturers unless a particular manufacturer did not conform with such standards in a timely manner and/or was otherwise afforded a waiver from such compliance.

A VIN submitted by an insurance company or servicing agent shall not be: partial, all alpha, primarily all alpha, right or left filed with zeros or other repeated characters, all one number, consecutive numbers, consecutive characters, alternating numbers, alternating characters, comprised of words or abbreviations including but not limited to: UNKNOWN, UNK, N/A, TO FOLLOW, TO BE DETERMINED, SEE POLICY, REQUESTED, NOT VALID, VEHICLES VARIOUS, HIRED AUTO, FLEET POLICY and NON-OWNED VEHICLE. A VIN assigned by DMV beginning with the alpha characters NY shall not be modified for reporting under this Part or for issuance of insurance ID cards in accordance with Part 32 of this Title.

(22) Vehicle's NYS license plate number. The actual alpha/numeric plate configuration assigned to a specific registrant/vehicle or dealer/transporter registration (section 34.11 of this Part) by DMV.

(23) VIN. Please see vehicle identification number.

(24) Year of vehicle. The model year assigned to a specific vehicle by the manufacturer, remanufacturer, DMV or other government entity. Year of vehicle shall represent a valid model year and shall be complete without any modification. Year of vehicle shall not be alpha, alpha/numeric or partial. No default values shall be submitted.

(g) Technical questions concerning these specifications including DMV's MVLIR implementation guide should be directed to:

NYS Department of Motor Vehicles

Insurance Information and Enforcement System

Insurance Services Bureau

Attention: IIES Compliance Unit

Six Empire State Plaza

Albany, NY 12228

E-mail: iies@dmv.state.ny.us

Fax: (518) 473-4347

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 15 § 34.9