The United Coalition of Insurance Professionals supports bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sen. Neil Breslin (D-Albany) and Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski (D-Rockland) that will allow auto insurance companies to waive the photo inspection of the vehicle generally required to obtain collision or comprehensive coverage.
The bill, dubbed the Auto Insurance Consumer Relief Act (S.6028), passed the New York State Assembly in late March with bipartisan support. If passed, the bill will make it easier for customers to obtain comprehensive and collision coverage, and provide regulatory relief for consumers, independent agents and brokers, and insurance companies.
The bill is supported in the Senate by a bipartisan group of co-sponsors:
• George M. Borrello (R, C, IP, LIBT) 57th Senate District (Jamestown)
• John E. Brooks (R) 8th Senate District (Massapequa)
• Jeremy A. Cooney (D, WF) 56th Senate District (Rochester)
• Pete Harckham (D, WF) 40th Senate District (Peekskill)
• Pamela Helming (R, C, IP) 54th Senate District (Geneva)
• Daphne Jordan (R, C, IP, RFM) 43rd Senate District (Hudson)
• Anna M. Kaplan (D, IP, WF) 7th Senate District (Long Island)
• John W. Mannion (R) 50th Senate District (Syracuse)
• Thomas F. O’Mara (R, C, IP) 58th Senate District (Elmira)
• Elijah Reichlin-Melnick (D, WF) 38th Senate District (Spring Valley)
• Patty Ritchie (R, C, IP) 48th Senate District (Watertown)
• Sean M. Ryan (R) 60th Senate District (Buffalo)
• James Skoufis (R) 39th Senate District (Newburgh)
“Each year, auto insurers in New York are required to perform physical inspections of cars to address fraudulent damage to vehicles, resulting in higher premiums for New Yorkers,” the Assemblyman said. Ken Zebrowski. “While this provision made sense at the time it was enacted, today we have better ways to prevent insurance fraud that are far more cost effective. It is time insurance companies had the ability to end this outdated process and pass these savings on to drivers.
“Insurance agents know all too well that mandatory photo inspections are an obstacle for many motorists in New York. Making these inspections voluntary at the discretion of insurance companies will simplify the process of getting insurance, helping more New Yorkers get covered and stay covered,” said NY First Co-Chair Ron Brunell. “I commend Deputy Zebrowski for passing this bill in the Assembly and Senator Breslin for championing it in the Senate. I am proud to work in unison with insurers and hope to see this important bill become law. »
“Allowing insurers to waive photo inspections will improve access to auto insurance for consumers statewide,” said NY First Co-Chair Dan Bierbrauer. “The Auto Insurance Consumer Relief Act will help New Yorkers stay insured while saving time and money, and will help insurers deliver better results for our customers. I am pleased to work with the agent and broker community, as well as our elected officials in Albany, to support this pro-consumer initiative.
Currently, New York State law makes photographic inspections mandatory in order to obtain comprehensive or collision coverage, regardless of an insurance provider’s preferences or needs. The coalition argues that the law, originally enacted in the late 1970s, no longer serves any purpose in contemporary practice and unnecessarily inconveniences consumers and small business owners. Worse still, if a consumer does not complete the photo inspection within a certain time, their collision and comprehensive coverage ends.