Gov. Kathy Hochul says her proposal to cut auto insurance rates is about affordability — cracking down on fraud and easing costs for New Yorkers.
But new reporting suggests powerful corporate interests, including Uber, may be playing a significant behind-the-scenes role.
Kevin Duggan, a reporter with Streetsblog NYC, says a little-known advocacy group has been lobbying aggressively in Albany in support of the governor’s proposal.
“One of the governor’s big proposals this year is to lower car insurance rates,” Duggan said. “She’s talking about going after fraud and regulations that she says allow for too much compensation for people involved in crashes.”
Duggan found that a group called Citizens for Affordable Rates has spent heavily on lobbying while keeping basic details about its leadership opaque.
“When we looked into this group, some information was available, but other things — like who’s in charge or even an address — were harder to find,” he said. “What we found is that this group is basically being led by Uber, with other car-focused companies attached.”
Those companies include trucking and coach bus interests, Duggan said, and they have been pushing similar policy changes for roughly a year.
The governor’s proposal includes narrowing the definition of “serious injury,” eliminating pain-and-suffering damages for people found mostly at fault in a crash, and capping damages for uninsured or impaired drivers.
“On paper, these sound like straightforward regulatory changes,” Duggan said. “But attorneys who represent crash victims warn this could drastically reduce how much someone can recover if they’re hit by a car.”
One provision would bar compensation entirely for anyone found even slightly more than 50 percent at fault.
“If you’re found just over half at fault, you would get no damages at all,” Duggan said. “Juries can be subjective, and small factors — like a cyclist not wearing a helmet, even if it’s legal — could tip the scale.”
Duggan said similar efforts backed by Uber have appeared in other states, including California and Florida, as part of a broader push to reshape liability and insurance rules.
Driver and safety advocates in New York remain skeptical. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance has not endorsed the proposal, warning that reduced coverage would also harm drivers injured in crashes. Street safety groups argue the state should focus on preventing crashes in the first place.
“They’re urging the governor to focus on safer streets and cracking down on repeat speeders,” Duggan said. “That would reduce crashes — and insurance costs — without cutting victims’ rights.”
Hochul denies the proposal is being driven by Uber, saying it targets fraud such as staged crashes and inflated medical claims. But Duggan says it remains unclear whether the changes would significantly lower premiums.
“What we do know is that it would reduce the amount people can recover after a crash,” he said.
As budget negotiations continue ahead of a March deadline, Duggan says lawmakers should closely examine both the data behind the proposal and the influence shaping it.
“A lot of this will come together at the last minute in Albany,” he said. “We may not know the final outcome until the budget is released.”
Image: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul delivers the 2026 State of the State address, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Albany, N.Y. (Darren McGee/ Office of Governor Kathy Hochul via AP)