* § 502. Prohibitions. (a) No person or governmental entity shall prepare, issue, request, or require the issuance of a certificate if such person or governmental entity knows that such certificate does not comply with the following provisions:

1. (1) The certificate is a standard certificate of insurance form promulgated and authorized for use by the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) or the Insurance Services Office (ISO);
2. (2) The certificate is a form promulgated by the insurance company that has underwritten the policy referenced in the certificate of insurance; or
3. (3) The certificate is a form prepared, issued, or requested as evidence of insurance in connection with a commercial lending transaction in which the underlying property serves as the primary collateral securing the borrower's repayment of the loan, including, but not limited to a form promulgated by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
4. (4) The certificate is a form promulgated by a governmental entity that is considered a covered agency under section fifty-one of the executive law, provided such form has been approved for use by the superintendent.
5. (b) No person or governmental entity shall alter, modify, request, or require the alteration of a certificate of insurance form when such person or governmental entity knows that such alteration, modification, request or requirement is in violation of this article.
6. (c) No person or governmental entity shall request or require that a certificate of insurance form contain additional terms, conditions, or language of any kind not found in the insurance policy to which the certificate makes reference or to an endorsement to such policy when such person or governmental entity knows such request or requirement is in violation of this article.
7. (d) No person or governmental entity shall request or require either in addition to or in lieu of a certificate of insurance, an opinion letter, warranty, statement, supplemental certificate or any other document or correspondence that such person or governmental entity knows to be inconsistent with the prohibitions of this section. However, an insurer or insurance producer may prepare or issue an addendum to a certificate that clarifies and explains the coverage provided by a policy of insurance and otherwise complies with the requirements of this section, provided such authority is granted to the producer by the insurer.
8. (e) No person or governmental entity shall request or require a certificate of insurance that such person or governmental entity knows contains references to a contract other than the insurance policy, or warrants that the insurance policies referenced in the certificate comply with the requirements of a particular contract provided however a certificate may include a contract title or description for the sole purpose of identifying the project for which the certificate was issued, but such inclusion shall not be interpreted as warranting that the insurance policies referenced in the certificate comply with the requirements of such contract.
9. (f) No person or governmental entity shall request or require, prepare or issue a certificate of insurance that such person or governmental entity knows: (i) does not accurately state the terms of coverage provided by the policy or policies of insurance to which the certificate makes reference; (ii) purports to alter, amend, extend, or misrepresent the terms of coverage to which the certificate makes reference; or (iii) purports to confer to any person new or additional rights beyond what the referenced policy of insurance expressly provides. * NB Effective April 29, 2015