Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York, said residents in the state face some of the nation’s highest car insurance costs—averaging over $4,000 annually—driven by scams, staged accidents, and excessive litigation.
“New Yorkers pay the highest auto insurance rates in the nation,” said Kathy C Hochul, State Executive – Governor. “Not because of bad driving, but because fraud and runaway lawsuits jack up prices. This is the year we put the brakes on it.”
According to Hochul’s post on X, fraud and excessive lawsuits significantly contribute to the high auto insurance premiums in New York. She outlined plans to strengthen enforcement against these issues, target staged accidents, and reform liability rules to make coverage more affordable.
New Yorkers pay some of the highest car insurance rates in the nation, totaling just over $4,000 annually on average. This is nearly $1,500 above the national average. The rates are driven up by a combination of fraud, litigation, legal loopholes, and enforcement gaps. Staged crashes and associated insurance fraud inflate everyone’s premiums by as much as $300 per year on average according to some estimates.
In 2023, insurers reported more than 38,000 suspected auto insurance fraud cases to New York regulators—the highest level on record. The problem is growing with proposals to strengthen anti-fraud enforcement, crack down on staged accidents and exaggerated injury claims, and modernize liability rules that fuel excessive litigation.
Excessive and fraudulent claims litigation contribute to rising auto insurance premiums and overall costs in the state. Legal system abuse costs New York residents 427,794 jobs and $7,027 for each household per year. This situation has earned the state a recurring spot on lists of judicial hellholes. Proposals include funding for investigations into alleged auto fraud and caps on certain damages.
Hochul was born in Buffalo, New York in 1958. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse University and a Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America. She served as Erie County Clerk and U.S. Representative before becoming lieutenant governor in 2015 and governor in 2021.
