Are you searching for another cause to be infuriated with New York’s government? Feast your eyes on a preposterous new law that we’ve uncovered.
The details of this legislation were brought to light by Chris Bragg of The Buffalo News, who has been unearthing shocking revelations about New York’s drivers. It turns out that soon, every driver in the state will be forced to pay for expanded, more costly auto insurance coverage, even though a significant portion of the population won’t benefit from it.
This new law, sponsored by state Sen. Neil Breslin, a Bethlehem Democrat, mandates that every driver be enrolled in coverage that allows them to sue their spouse for damages resulting from negligent driving. And it doesn’t matter if you’re unmarried either because everyone gets the coverage, whether they want it or not. This coverage is estimated to cost between $20 and $84 annually.
Sure, there’s an option to opt out, but that requires contacting your insurance company and signing a form explicitly stating that you reject the expansion. Even businesses with commercial policies are automatically enrolled in this coverage, even though it doesn’t make sense for most of them.
Despite the glaring flaws in this bill, it flew through the Assembly, passing with a vote of 110-39, and the Senate, with only three lawmakers voting against it. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill into law, even after insurance companies explicitly warned her that the unmarried half of New York’s population would end up paying more without any benefit.
Geico was one of the companies that urged Governor Hochul to veto the bill, but unfortunately, it was signed into law, taking effect at the beginning of August. The New York Insurance Association strongly opposed the bill as well, fearing that the industry would be blamed for the increased premiums. New Yorkers were already burdened with some of the highest auto insurance costs in the nation.
However, the bill enjoyed heavy support from the state Trial Lawyers Association and the state Academy of Trial Lawyers because their members stand to benefit from the litigation made possible by the expanded coverage. They argued that this law bridges the coverage gap that prevented New Yorkers from suing their spouses and receiving payment from their spouse’s insurance company for negligence in driving.
While this may be true, previously, New Yorkers had the option to request this coverage if they were willing to pay for it. There is no evidence to suggest that drivers were demanding this expansion or that consumer advocacy groups were advocating for it. So, how did this law come to be?
This is where we bring up the fact that trial lawyers are major contributors to political campaigns. As Chris Bragg mentioned, a political action committee representing trial lawyers has donated around $1.5 million to state politicians from both parties since 2021, including Governor Hochul. In 2022, the same year the supplemental insurance bill was passed, this PAC donated the maximum amount of $117,300 to the Assembly Democrats’ campaign arm and almost as much to Senate Democrats.
And thus, we are presented with yet another instance of Albany prioritizing big donors over the average New Yorker. This law provides a legitimate reason to be angry with the state government, and it should be repealed.
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