Global threats, fraud, the state's legislative and regulatory environment, and reduced product availability are battering New York's property and casualty insurance markets. That was the message Big I New York and its partner coalition
New York First delivered to state public policymakers on February 4 at an information session in Albany.
The event, called the
NY P&C Insurance Summit, took place before an audience of more than 200 members of the state legislature and their staff at the Hilton Albany. Legislative magazine
City & State New York organized the event. The theme was “Charting a Path for Stability & Access for All." Industry insiders and experts discussed the current state of the markets and the reasons for it. A chat with
New York Superintendent of Financial Services Adrienne A. Harris followed by a panel discussion with key state lawmakers ended the day.
[Videos of the event for those who were unable to attend will be posted on this site as soon as they are ready.]
[City & State New York's article about the event is available on their website.]
Michel Léonard, chief economist and data scientist at the
Insurance Information Institute, opened the session with an overview, reporting that insurance affordability and availability are major issues today. Noting that insurance is a low-margin business, he pointed to legal system abuse; soaring property replacement costs; the natural catastrophes that occurred in 2024; international events such as the imposition of tariffs; and third-party funding of lawsuits as factors contributing to the hard markets.
Hank Watkins, executive director and associate dean at the
St. John's University Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science, reviewed the many global challenges facing the industry. They included climate change; geopolitical conflicts such as the war in Ukraine; the growth of artificial intelligence (AI); cyber threats; pollution, including “forever chemicals;" inflation; and changes in global economic conditions.
Tom Stebbins, executive director of the
Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY,) spoke about the state's “fraudemic" – an epidemic of fraud that is costing policyholders millions of dollars. He focused on growing fraud in construction accidents, showing video of news reports of staged accidents on job sites. Organizations affected by these crimes are beginning to fight back by filing lawsuits under federal and state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) laws against ringleaders, law firms, and medical practices.
Wes Bissett, senior counsel for government affairs at the
Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I"), announced that “New York is on the brink of an insurance crisis." He argued that the state's approach to insurance regulation hinders competition and is inflexible and slow. Citing the difficulty carriers have obtaining approval for adequate rates and new products, he called for speeding up the process and asked for regulators to adopt a less adversarial attitude. The focus, he said, should be on the factors driving up loss costs such as the ones the previous speakers had raised.
Big I New York President and CEO Lisa Lounsbury moderated a panel discussion with Janet Pane, CEO and executive director of the
Excess Line Association of New York (ELANY,) and Eric Draitser, assistant manager with the
New York Automobile Insurance Plan (NYAIP.) The panelists emphasized that the market share going to the excess line market and the auto assigned risk plan have shot up in recent years. Draitser said that the volume of applications to the NYAIP has increased dramatically just since 2022. Pane asked public policymakers to work with ELANY to produce innovative solutions for the markets.
Lounsbury also moderated a panel featuring agents and carriers, including:
Bodenstein and Mendoza described the ways the hard market has impacted consumers, with carrier exits from the market hurting availability. Mendoza said that lack of availability has left agents unable to properly protect their clients. Echoing earlier comments about the challenges facing carriers, Martin and Sander called for speedier consideration of rate and form filings, reform of the legal system, and a renewed focus on combating fraud. Martin also said attracting talented employees is a constant challenge.
In a conversation with City & State's Editor-in-Chief Ralph Ortega, Superintendent Harris acknowledged that a backlog of rate and form filings had built up, pointing to staff shortages as the culprit. However, she said the Department of Financial Services (DFS) has cleared 30,000 “aged filings" and she is receiving monthly progress reports. Still, “You will never hear a regulator say they have all the tools they need," she added. She sees the DFS's job as striking the right balance between having safe, sound and solvent carriers while also ensuring that insurance products are affordable.
[A transcript of their conversation is available on the City & State New York website.]
The final session, moderated by Rebecca C. Lewis, City & State's senior state politics reporter, included three key members of the state legislature:
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David Weprin (D – Queens,) chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee
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Pam Hunter (D – 128th district – Central New York), president of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL)
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Jamaal Bailey (D – Bronx and Westchester,) chair of the Senate Insurance Committee
Weprin predicted that New York lawmakers will be “playing defense" against the new administration in Washington for the next few years. To make insurance more affordable, Hunter suggested authorizing tax-favored “catastrophic savings accounts," akin to the health savings accounts frequently coupled with high-deductible health plans. She also called for incentives to make homes more resilient against fire and storm hazards. Bailey said that underinsurance is a significant problem and that it would be wise for homeowners to make regular assessments of their homes' rebuilding costs. Hunter added that people should have the same relationship with their insurance carriers as they have with their doctors.
The consistent message throughout the day was that the P&C markets in New York are very troubled with no single solution to the problem. Conditions call for a suite of approaches to ensuring that New York does not follow states like California, Florida, and Louisiana down the path of dysfunctional markets.