Photo by Kenneth C. Zirkel – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
The New York State Senate is investigating the availability and affordability of residential property insurance. Big I New York responded last week to an information request related to the probe.
The Senate committees on Investigations and Government Operations; Insurance; and Housing, Construction and Community Development are conducting the inquiry. The chairs of those committees in August sent formal information requests to the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS); thirty-one insurance carriers; and associations and trade groups, including Big I New York. The request asked specific questions regarding the condition of New York’s residential property insurance market.
Big I New York hand-delivered its response directly to Senate Insurance Committee Chair Jamaal Bailey on August 28 during a visit by members to his Bronx district office.
Many of the questions, such as those seeking specific insurance carrier data, did not apply to Big I New York. However, we responded to several questions from the independent insurance agents’ and brokers’ perspective.
Our cover letter pointed to the public policy decisions that have led to the present situation. “(I)t is paramount," we wrote, “that policy makers understand the role that legislative and regulatory decisions have played in contributing to the affordability and availability issues in New York. Decades of decisions that favor personal injury attorneys and legal system abuse have come at a price. Without meaningful change, insurance rates will remain unaffordable, and coverage will be more difficult to procure."
Among the challenges we frequently raised in our response were:
- New York Labor Law Sections 240 and 241.
- Legal system abuse.
- Fraud.
- Third-party litigation funding (TPLF.)
- Staffing shortages at the DFS.
We also emphasized concerns about bills pending in the legislature that make the state appear unwelcome to businesses. These bills discourage businesses from investing in New York because of the political and public policy risks.
The letter reminded the committees of the awareness-raising event Big I New York presented last winter. “On February 4, 2025," the letter said, “Big I New York hosted the New York Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance Summit in Albany New York. The event brought together more than two hundred policymakers, insurance carriers, agents, and other stakeholders to discuss actions necessary to foster a strong, sustainable insurance marketplace." The letter directed lawmakers to the Summit web page. It also offered the committees access to unedited footage of the entire three-hour event to support and assist in their investigation.
The committees have not announced a timeline for the inquiry. We anticipate that the months leading up to January, when the next legislative session begins, will include one or more hearings, a report, and legislative proposals. We will report updates in this newsfeed as we receive them.