“Right now, for-hire drivers like me are drowning in sky-high insurance costs. While most for-hire drivers in New York State operate with a $50,000 Personal Injury Protection (PIP) requirement, drivers in the city are forced to carry $200,000 in coverage. The result? Insurance costs that are screwing drivers, sometimes hitting as much as $12,000 a year. That’s why I support a bill that would reduce the insurance requirement for for-hire drivers in New York City to $50,000, bringing it in line with the rest of the state.
“Let’s be clear: reducing this insurance requirement doesn’t mean less protection for drivers or passengers. New York City for-hire drivers already… carry more liability insurance than other drivers on the road to ensure there is enough coverage for our passengers, third-parties and pedestrians, should we have a crash. The Black Car Fund provides benefits like medical coverage and wage replacement. Yellow cab drivers are covered by Workers’ Compensation. There’s also zero evidence that rides in New York City are any more dangerous than rides in Yonkers or Buffalo, let alone four times more dangerous – especially when our streets are so congested, we’re rarely moving at speeds faster than a snail’s pace.
“What’s worse is that this excessive insurance requirement has turned NYC into a hotspot for scammers. Fraudsters exploit the system by staging crashes and filing bogus claims against us, [which] drives up costs for everyone. According to New York’s Department of Financial Services, three out of four insurance fraud reports last year were connected to these types of scams.”
– Tiemoko Sidibe, FHV Driver
Source: Bronx Times
