NYS Capital — Since January New York Governor Kathy Hochul has made her way around the State, pushing her policy proposals, which includes auto insurance reform.

To decrease costs, the Governor is proposing to crack down on fraud by empowering and strengthening coordination between law enforcement and insurance companies. She is also is proposing to limit the insurance payout for an individual who is engaging in unlawful behavior at the time of a crash, while doing the same for individuals who are deemed “mostly” at fault. She is also pushing to create a more fair and firm definition of “serious injury”.

New York’s older population, along with officials who provide resources and support for those individuals, are speaking out in support of these changes.

“I bought my first car in 1975. I’ve been paying car insurance ever since. Every year, I’m paying more. The last time I had a vehicle accident where I was at fault was in 1979,” John Binsell, who is 70 years old, says. “And my insurance keeps going up. I’m currently paying $4,000 a year and it’s too damn much. While I haven’t caused an accident since 1979, in the past five years I’ve been hit four times. I’ve been hit in a parking lot when my car was parked. I’ve been hit in a parking lot when I was waiting to spot the open up. I’ve been rear ended at two different traffic lights. In each of those instances my car was not moving, and I was not held at fault. Whether my insurance rates went up because of it anyway, I don’t know because they don’t tell me, I just know every year it goes up more.”

New York’s aging population is a growing population, right now there more than five million people over 60 in New York, three million are licensed drivers.

“When you look at an 80% increase in insurance over the last six years, 44,000 staged accidents which have raised insurance by $300 a year, and the fact that what happens to an individual when they maybe can’t drive or lose their car, it is particularly an issue for older adults,” Greg Olsen, Acting Director of the New York State Office for the Aging, says. “You can’t get to a doctor. You can’t get to a specialist. You can’t get a test done. You can’t get to the pharmacy, etc. That impacts their health. That promotes loneliness and isolation, which is really a public health problem for older people.”

When it comes to getting around, Emma Teague, the Commissioner for the Albany County Department for Aging says using public transportation in the City of Albany is an option, but outside of 14 miles, transportation can be more challenging.

“When we look at our older adults, we also need to take into consideration that we do and have spent a nominal amount of money, $837,000 for just services to help them,” she said. “But we have given like 37,000 rides. We can’t sustain that with the inflation of fuel and everything going on, as well as protection of insurance. We need to take care of our older adults, make sure they have their independence and they get the resources that they need. I think this is the best time for us to look at the insurance component and the protection component, as well as resources that are available to our older adults.”

Deb Riitano, Director of Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary, owns an independent living facility for seniors 60 and over, and that people are relying more on transportation,

“We have a couple who had to give up their car just based on the auto insurance,” she said. “So we would really like to see this resolved through the Governor’s budget. Besides all the things that seniors need to do, they also want to be able to drive to visit their grandchildren, mine are kind of spread out all over. We’d like to be able to see that as more affordability for social things as well.”

Meanwhile, there’s a reason this proposal has become one of the sticking points in this year’s budget, which remains late past its April 1st as of this article.

Andrew Finkelstein, President, New York State Trial Lawyers Association says in part in a statement:

“The Governor’s so-called affordability plan to dismantle New Yorkers’ auto insurance protections is backed by millions in lobbying dollars from insurance companies and Uber, the primary beneficiaries. It is a smokescreen that will slam courthouse doors shut for innocent victims of traffic accidents while funneling even greater profits into those companies’ coffers.”

The State Senate and Assembly have both indicated a willingness to discuss the reforms as a part of the budget conversation.