Advocacy

On Wednesday, December 1st, Big I Western NY hosted their annual Virtual Legislative Breakfast. Member agents from across the region and a bipartisan group of nearly a dozen state lawmakers and staff members participated in the event, whichn was focused on Big I NY's key legislative issues.Scott Hobson, Big I NY's AVP of Government Relations provided an update on developments during the past year, including progress on our bill to make auto photo inspections voluntary, streamlining the process for placing coverage in the excess market, and the unanimous appellate court ruling in our favor declaring Insurance Regulation 187 unconstitutional. The event also featured a look forward…

​Do you know about InsurPac, and why it is crucially important? If you care about the future of our industry, you should.InsurPac is our national political committee. It allows us to support candidates for congress who understand the importance of the IA system, and the value we provide our customers. Relationships are what makes the difference in the IA system, and it's what makes a difference in our advocacy efforts on your behalf on Capitol Hill. InsurPac helps us build and enhance relationships with key decision makers, just like you do with your customers every day.InsurPac raises and distributes approximately $2.3 million each election cycle,…

​This week, Big I NY joined a broad coalition of business, municipal, and construction groups in calling on Governor Hochul to veto the “Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act". The bill would require the automatic disclosure of virtually all information related to a defendant's insurance coverage and information, including insurance applications. Typically such information is obtained through discovery, in which a judge has discretion to allow only relevant materials to be disclosed. The practical effect of this bill would be to put significant discovery costs on defendants, and give plaintiffs attorneys a trove of information to engage in a litigation “fishing expedition," pursuing claims based on a defendant's available coverage…