Auto Insurance Industry to New York: Get Rid of Photo Inspection Requirement

Auto insurance carriers and independent agents in New York have launched a campaign to eliminate what they say is an outdated requirement for the state’s auto insurance buyers.

The group wants lawmakers to let auto insurance companies waive the vehicle photo inspection that is typically required to obtain collision or comprehensive coverage.

An industry coalition, NY First, is supporting bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Neil Breslin (D-Albany) and Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski (D-Rockland) that will make it possible for customers to obtain comprehensive and collision coverage, without the photo requirement

The bill, called the Auto Insurance Consumer Relief Act (S.6028), has already passed the New York State Assembly with bipartisan support and now sits in the Senate Committee on Insurance.

Currently, New York State law makes photo inspections mandatory in order to obtain comprehensive or collision coverage. The industry contends that the law, originally enacted in the late 1970s, no longer serves a purpose and unnecessarily inconveniences consumers and small business owners. If a buyer does not complete the photo inspection within a certain time frame, their collision and comprehensive coverage is terminated.

“Every 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,” said Assemblyman Zebrowski. “While this provision made sense at the time it was enacted, today we have better ways of preventing insurance fraud that are far more cost effective. It is time that insurance companies have the ability to put an end to this antiquated process and pass those savings on to drivers.”

The New York Department of Financial Services has not indicated its position on the bill.

Topics Auto New York Market