Albany Pols Seek Transparency From Insurance Giants As Hochul Pushes Premium Cuts

Two state legislators want insurance companies to show their work when they want state officials to rubber-stamp their rate hikes.

Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) introduced legislation (A10616) last week that would force auto insurers to annually submit detailed data to the state Department of Financial Services showing their streams of income, claim history and profits and losses. The state usually only receives aggregate information from companies about their premium prices and their payouts, and Dinowitz believes that by asking companies to pop the hood on their financials, they would be inclined to lower prices.

State Senate Insurance Chair Jamaal Bailey (D-Bronx) introduced the bill (SS1655) in his chamber in January.

“This bill addresses transparency. They get rate increases all the time, and it’s never really justified,” said Dinowitz. “So by requiring the insurance companies to submit to Department of Financial Services a financial statement, it can certainly make the public aware of important information that they need, including how do they explain the premiums that they charge?”

Meanwhile, Gov. Hochul says she can lower auto insurance premiums by cracking down on fraud (which she has grossly overstated) and by making it harder for some crash victims to get full compensation for their pain and suffering.

But it’s unclear if insurance companies will lower rates if Hochul’s reform measure becomes law. Lawmakers have been gleefully pointing that out in their questioning of state officials, as Streetsblog has previously reported.

Dinowitz counts himself among the skeptics.

“Is New York the only state that has fraud? I don’t think so,” he said. “I don’t think the answer is limiting the amount of money that an injured person can collect.”

Meanwhile, Uber has spent $8 million — and hired professional actors — so far this year to support Hochul’s reform effort. Advocates for car crash victims have spent less, so far, but have been vociferous in their belief that reform should not require victims to be traumatized twice: first by getting struck by a car driver and then by not receiving full compensation for their injuries.

Hochul made her proposal in her executive budget earlier this year. But state lawmakers declined to include the proposal in their response to Hochul spending’s plan. Negotiations are ongoing.

Streetsblog reached out to the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, an industry trade group, but did not hear back.