FAITH & COMMUNITY LEADERS RALLY FOR AUTO INSURANCE REFORM; COALITION URGES LAWMAKERS TO DELIVER RELIEF IN STATE BUDGET
New Yorkers Paying $4,000 Per Year – Nearly Double the National Average – As Poll Shows 86% Support for Reform
ALBANY – Faith and community leaders from across New York State gathered today at the State Capitol’s Million Dollar Staircase to call on the Legislature to pass Governor Kathy Hochul’s auto insurance reform plan in the final State Budget and deliver meaningful relief for drivers. Speakers highlighted the Governor’s proposal to direct the state to use the Excess Profit Law to ensure savings from these reforms benefit consumers before insurers.
The coalition of faith and civic leaders noted the growing financial burden auto insurance costs are placing on working families across the state, particularly in communities of color. Advocates emphasized that New Yorkers now pay an average of roughly $4,000 per year for auto insurance – about twice the national average, with premiums reaching $5,000 to $7,000 in some areas.
Speakers also pointed to a recent poll showing 86 percent of New Yorkers support reforms aimed at lowering premiums and ensuring excess insurance profits are returned to policyholders. At the event, coalition members urged lawmakers to work with the Governor to pass reforms that target fraud and system abuse, increase transparency, and ensure savings are passed on to drivers.
“New Yorkers are in an affordability crisis and paying $4,000 a year for car insurance on top of everything is simply an unsustainable burden for working families,” said Tuulikki Robertson, Executive Director of the Black Institute. “Faith leaders and community advocates from Buffalo to Brooklyn are speaking with one voice: lawmakers must use this year’s budget to deliver real relief and put money back into the pockets of drivers across our state.”
“Budget decisions reflect our values as a state,” said Rev. Dr. Robert Waterman, Antioch Baptist Church. “When families are choosing between paying for car insurance and paying for groceries, something is very wrong. Addressing the auto insurance affordability crisis is not just a common sense policy, it’s the right thing to do for the people we serve every day.”
“For many working families, a car isn’t a luxury – it’s how they get to work, take their children to school, and care for loved ones,” said Rev. James A. Lewis, President of Buffalo/Niagara National Action Network. “When auto insurance premiums climb into the thousands of dollars each year, that’s money that could be going toward rent, education, or supporting local businesses. Reforming this broken system is about restoring fairness for everyday New Yorkers.”
“The public is overwhelmingly on the side of reform,” said Rev. Conrad Tillard, Senior Minister Congregational Church of South Hempstead. “Recent polling shows 86 percent of New Yorkers support efforts to bring down car insurance costs and return excess profits to policyholders. That level of agreement is unheard of in today’s politics, and it should send a clear message to lawmakers that the time for action is now.”
“New Yorkers deserve a system that works for honest drivers, not one that forces them to pay thousands more than people in other states. If leaders are serious about making New York more affordable, including auto insurance reform in the final budget would be a big step towards putting real money back into people’s pockets,”said Amina Iduma, owner of Lami African Market in Nassau County.
Governor Hochul has proposed reforms to lower auto insurance costs by cracking down on fraud, limiting payouts for drivers engaging in unlawful behavior, and modernizing litigation rules. Notably, the plan directs the state to re-examine the Excess Profit Law to ensure savings from these reforms benefit consumers before insurers. The plan also increases transparency on rate changes and rewards safe driving.