New York Governor Kathy Hochul has gained the support of major law-enforcement unions in her bid to crack down on car-insurance fraud and limit personal-injury lawsuits, part of her broader plan to tackle soaring auto-insurance premiums in the state.
New Yorkers currently pay an average of $4,000 annually for auto insurance—approximately $1,500 more than the national average. Hochul’s reforms aim to address these high costs by targeting staged accidents and curbing what she describes as “runaway litigation costs” that drive up premiums.
“Our members don’t just keep New Yorkers safe on the road. We deal with the same high costs of driving as every other New Yorker, including high insurance premiums,” said Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association of New York City. “We applaud the governor’s efforts to reduce these costs and make New York affordable for working-class families like ours.”
Andrew Ansbro, president of the United Firefighters Association, echoed Hendry’s sentiments, stating, “We completely agree that the high cost of auto insurance is a problem for our members both at work and at home, which is why we support the governor’s efforts to lower auto insurance.”
Other supporters include the New York State Fire Chiefs Association, the County Fire Coordinators’ Association, and various local law-enforcement bodies such as the Nassau Suffolk Fire Districts Legislature Committee and the Monroe County Sheriff’s PBA. These groups have formally expressed support to state legislative leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.
Hochul’s proposal also includes limiting damages for drivers engaged in criminal behavior at the time of an accident, barring compensation for uninsured motorists who violate state financial responsibility laws, individuals convicted of driving under the influence, and those committing felonies or fleeing accident scenes. She is also pushing legislation to allow prosecutors to pursue criminal charges against anyone orchestrating staged accidents—not just the driver.
While the Assembly and Senate did not incorporate Hochul’s auto-insurance reforms in their recently released budget resolutions, the governor remains optimistic. In an interview on CBS’ The Point with Marcia Kramer, she emphasized, “There’s a lot of time to get it back in.”
Hochul’s plan, modeled after a similar law in Florida, could potentially reduce premiums for New York drivers by 15% to 20%. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently estimated it could save $48 million annually by avoiding costly “jackpot” settlements for bus-related accidents in which its drivers were not primarily at fault.
However, her proposal to revise the state’s “serious injury” threshold to filter out minor lawsuits faces opposition from the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, a well-funded lobbying group influential with Democratic legislators.
