Op-Ed | The Hidden Cost of Doing Business in NYC: Auto Insurance Is Driving Us Out
Coming to New York from Korea in 1980 meant chasing one simple dream – to build something of my own. Like so many immigrants, our belief was that with hard work, fairness, and a commitment to community, a better life could be achievable in America.
More than four decades later, that dream still lives on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights. My shop, Four Seasons Uniform, has outfitted thousands of New Yorkers – nurses from Elmhurst Hospital, restaurant workers, custodians, and home health aides. Jackson Heights has always been a place where newcomers take their first steps toward the American Dream. But lately, it feels like the city that once made those dreams possible is slowly pushing small business owners out.
The latest blow is car insurance.
Every small business in New York depends on vehicles. Delivery vans bring in supplies and drop off goods to hospitals, schools, and restaurants. Vendors rely on trucks to move inventory. Employees use cars to get to work. When auto insurance premiums skyrocket, every one of these functions becomes more expensive – and the ripple effect reaches everyone.
In just a few years, car insurance costs have exploded. What used to cost a few thousand dollars now runs into the tens of thousands – and that’s if coverage can even be found. Some business owners have been dropped by insurers without warning, forced into the costly “surplus” market just to keep their vehicles on the road.
It’s not just one store or one block feeling the pressure. Delivery drivers, dry cleaners, florists, and construction contractors across Queens are being squeezed. Rising insurance costs drive up supplier prices, delivery fees, and, ultimately, the cost of everyday goods.
New York’s outdated legal system has only made things worse. Fraudulent injury claims and staged car crashes have turned auto insurance into a gold mine for scammers and a nightmare for honest workers. I have personally witnessed how some shady lawyers take advantage of this arrangement and make big profits from it. Insurance companies, in response to costly litigation and inflated payouts, pass those losses onto everyone – from taxi drivers to mom-and-pop shops. It’s a broken system that rewards fraud and punishes the people trying to do things the right way.
For immigrant entrepreneurs, this feels especially cruel. Many of us came to New York to build, to create jobs, to give back to our communities. But between inflation, increasing business expenses, and especially the insurance premiums that have tripled, the city seems to be daring small businesses to give up.
Walk through Jackson Heights and you’ll hear dozens of languages – Korean, Bengali, Spanish, Nepali, Urdu. Every storefront tells a story of sacrifice and determination. Yet when the basic costs of doing business spiral out of control, even the hardest-working owners can’t keep up.
If nothing changes, more small businesses will close. The storefronts that make New York vibrant and diverse will be replaced by empty windows and “For Lease” signs. And when that happens, the city doesn’t just lose another business – it loses part of its soul.
State and city leaders must step up before it’s too late. Albany needs to crack down on insurance fraud, reform laws that allow staged accidents and bogus lawsuits to flourish, and explore solutions like state-backed insurance pools or tax incentives to help small businesses stay afloat. Without action, more entrepreneurs will be forced to shut their doors – taking with them the jobs, culture, and character that define New York.
This city was built by immigrants who believed in opportunity. That belief is fading under the weight of costs we can’t control. The American Dream is still worth fighting for — but small business owners need help to keep it alive.
John Park is a small business owner and a member of Queens Community Board 7.