CITIZENS FOR UNAFFORDABLE RATES WARNS NEW YORK AUTO PREMIUMS ARE “TOO DAMN LOW” AT $4,000
Group Calls For Immediate Rate Hikes To Protect Status Quo, Insiders & Special Interests
ALBANY – Citizens for Unaffordable Rates (CUR) today launched an emergency public awareness campaign, “Premiums Are Too Damn Low,” warning that New York’s highest-in-the-nation auto insurance costs may no longer be sufficiently burdensome for drivers. Despite average annual premiums exceeding $4,000 – nearly double the national average – CUR expressed deep concern that some New Yorkers continue to retain disposable income after paying their bills.
“After reviewing the data, we’ve identified a troubling trend: in some cases, drivers are still able to afford a few basic necessities after covering their insurance premiums – and yet 86% of New Yorkers still inexplicably support insurance reform,” said Penny Paymore, Executive Director of Citizens for Unaffordable Rates. “If a New Yorker can pay for car insurance and a slice of pizza in the same month, something is clearly wrong.”
CUR is mobilizing its coalition of Albany insiders, shady attorneys and medical providers, as well as staged auto accident ringleaders to oppose what it described as Governor Hochul’s “reckless efforts” to reduce costs, warning that such changes would undermine a carefully calibrated system producing sky-high premiums.
CUR detailed its program to ensure premiums keep rising for New Yorkers:
Do Nothing
CUR strongly endorses inaction as the most effective policy tool available. If the system’s broken – and it’s expensive – it should not be fixed. Intervention risks improvement, and improvement risks savings to consumers.
Increase the Fraud Tax
CUR praised the estimated $300 per-driver annual cost associated with fraud as a strong start – but noted that there is clearly room for more. “These staged car accidents don’t fund themselves,” Paymore noted. “This is about supporting innovation – and we’d welcome an increase in that investment wherever possible.”
Stop Insurers from Passing Savings to Consumers
CUR calls for strict limits on the use of the state’s Excess Profits Law to ensure that no cost-saving measure ever reaches a consumer’s pocket. If insurers start returning money to New York drivers, the entire financial ecosystem collapses. Money should flow upward, not downward.
Defend the Right to Jackpot Justice – No Matter What
CUR reaffirmed its position that drunk drivers and other criminals who are primarily – or even overwhelmingly – at fault for causing car accidents must retain full access to jackpot payouts financed by every other driver. Accountability is a gateway to affordability. We cannot allow that door to open.
About Citizens for Unaffordable Rates (CUR)
Citizens for Unaffordable Rates is an advocacy organization dedicated to preserving high costs, complex systems, and maximum financial strain for consumers. CUR believes that if driving is still affordable, there is more work to be done.
