If you call New York home, you don’t need anyone to tell you; car insurance prices are sky-high. Most New Yorkers shell out more than $4,000 a year for coverage, which is about $1,500 more than what people pay across the country.
What’s Sending Rates Through the Roof?
Let’s be honest; for many of us, going without a car just isn’t possible. We need it for work, shuttling the kids around, and just managing daily life. So when insurance costs keep creeping up, it can really squeeze our budgets. State officials point the finger at insurance fraud and the way claims and lawsuits are handled as two big reasons our premiums keep jumping.
Insurance Fraud: A Growing Problem
The state says staged car crashes and organized insurance fraud are getting more common, and these aren’t just minor fender benders. Some scams are carefully planned to cash in on big insurance payouts.
New York is actually near the top of the list nationwide when it comes to staged crashes. In recent years, the number of suspected insurance fraud cases has skyrocketed, with tens of thousands reported across the state.
It’s pretty straightforward: when insurance companies lose money to fraud, they make up for it by raising rates for the rest of us who follow the rules.
Governor Hochul’s Plan to Tackle Fraud
Governor Kathy Hochul has rolled out a set of proposals that zero in on stopping organized fraud before it hits everyone’s wallets…