{"id":205495,"date":"2026-04-22T00:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/205495\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T00:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:37:11","slug":"new-yorkers-could-see-auto-rates-decline-in-one-year-hochul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/205495\/","title":{"rendered":"New Yorkers could see auto rates decline in one year: Hochul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost three weeks past the state budget\u2019s April 1 deadline<\/a>, Gov. Kathy Hochul dug her heels on her proposal to change the state\u2019s auto insurance system, which she argued will make it cheaper for New York drivers.<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019s not ready to call it a deal until she gets her way on changes she\u2019s proposed to New York\u2019s auto insurance system.<\/p>\n

What You Need To Know<\/p>\n

Almost three weeks past the state budget\u2019s\u00a0April 1 deadline<\/a>, Gov. Kathy Hochul dug her heels on her proposal to change the state\u2019s auto insurance system
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She said she\u2019s not ready to call it a deal until she gets her way on changes she\u2019s proposed to New York\u2019s auto insurance system
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Proponents cited data showing the Empire State ranks among the highest nationally for the cost of car insurance
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Hochul\u2019s proposal has drawn sharp criticism from some members of the legislature, who are skeptical of promises that it will lower rates and provide adequate coverage for drivers<\/p>\n

\u201cMy expectation and the only motivation I have in pursuing this is to see premiums decline,\u201d she told reporters at Wagner Farm in Poestenkill, outside of Albany, while pushing proposals she said will make costs cheaper for policyholders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we expect will happen is that we start removing some of the unique aspects of New York, which is liability laws that end up with enormous jackpot payouts in court that you don\u2019t see in other cases. I mean, that\u2019s a huge driver. Plus, the laws on fraud need to be tightened up. I want stricter penalty. I want more aggressive enforcement,\u201d she said when asked about her plan.<\/p>\n

Proponents cited data showing the Empire State ranks among the highest nationally for the cost of car insurance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of 2023, New York had the third highest average auto premium in the country. The only states ahead of us, Florida and Louisiana passed reforms to their system, so if you go forward to today in 2026, it\u2019s pretty possible that New York drivers pay the highest average premiums in the country,\u201d said Sean Campion, of the fiscally conservative Citizens Budget Commission<\/a>, citing testimony presented to the legislature this year.<\/p>\n

New York is also one of just a handful of states that provide generous coverage to drivers \u2014 even if they are found to be at fault for the accident itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it\u2019s staged accidents. You\u2019ll see that, you know, there\u2019s evidence out there, which is rather appalling. It\u2019s pretty brazen when you think about what people are doing, literally slamming into an MTA bus and then claiming if the bus is false,\u201d said Hochul.<\/p>\n

But when asked when New York drivers will see savings if her plan goes through, Hochul explained it\u2019s unclear.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Florida it was a year, then the second year people saw a decline. I think six months is probably not realistic. I want to see more insurers enter the marketplace,\u201d said Hochul.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I would say a year,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Hochul\u2019s proposal has drawn sharp criticism from some members of the legislature, who are skeptical of promises that it will lower rates and provide adequate coverage for drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we do these changes, then people will indeed see a reduction in the insurance that they\u2019re going to pay,\u201d said Democratic state Sen. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins during a separate news conference at the State Capitol Building on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to see changes in the way our DFS operates; we want to see changes in the way car insurance companies operate,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The Trial Lawyers Association, one of the main opponents to Hochul\u2019s plan, told NY1 in a statement that while they back her efforts<\/a> to combat fraud, \u201cWhat we oppose is rolling back New Yorkers\u2019 rights. While the Governor is parroting insurance company talking points, the companies are making billions by investing the float, which grows the longer claims are delayed or denied. That is the business model. Why should New York reinforce it?”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the governor is also pushing for new taxes on second homes in New York City, arguing it will help fill Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s $5.4 billion budget hole.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not calling me on this topic,\u201d she said, reacting to criticism from President Donald Trump after he blamed Mamdani for her proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a better, small subset of our population that we\u2019re looking to bring in continuous revenues,\u201d she added, defending her idea.<\/p>\n

Legislators are on track to pass their sixth budget extender Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Almost three weeks past the state budget\u2019s April 1 deadline, Gov. Kathy Hochul dug her heels on her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[109,116,25,8889,4275,9,24,11,10,12,112,87,27],"class_list":{"0":"post-205495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-app-local-state-politics","9":"tag-app-ny-state-of-politics","10":"tag-app-top-stories","11":"tag-bernadette-hogan","12":"tag-local-politics","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-new-york-headlines","16":"tag-new-york-news","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-ny-state-of-politics","19":"tag-politics","20":"tag-top-stories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}