“One of the major contributors to this [insurance] crisis is New York’s no-fault (Personal Injury Protection or PIP) insurance law and the fraudulent and inflated claims encouraged by the city’s unique requirement for additional no-fault insurance coverage for taxis and for-hire vehicles. No-fault insurance… is designed to provide quick compensation for medical expenses and other damages after an accident, regardless of who is at fault. While this sounds beneficial, the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) mandate that taxis and for-hire vehicles carry $200,000 of no-fault – four times what the state requires – makes these vehicle owners an easily identifiable and particularly attractive target for fraudulent or inflated insurance claims… [and] has encouraged healthcare providers to submit fraudulent no-fault claims for nonexistent, false, or exaggerated injuries. A March 2024 report from the New York State Financial Services (DFS) found suspected no-fault fraud cases accounted for 75% of all insurance fraud reports and 94% of all healthcare fraud reports received in 2023. Eliminating TLC’s additional no-fault insurance could help deter insurance claim abuse and fraud, encourage competition in the taxi and for-hire vehicle insurance market, and eventually lower premiums. The workers’ compensation laws and benefits funds protect drivers already, and pedestrians and other motorists have always been unable to collect the additional no-fault under state regulations.”
– Matthew W. Daus, Esq.
Source: amNY
